The Little Mermaid's Live-Action Remake Makes a Big Splash at the Box Office, Outshining Disney's Previous Films
Despite mixed reviews, The Little Mermaid 2023 has already surpassed the box office success of the original animated film within its first week of release, cementing its place among Disney's successful live-action remakes
The live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid has already surpassed the box office success of the original animated film within the first week of its release. The beloved Disney classic, which kickstarted the Disney Renaissance in 1989, is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. The new film, which hit theaters on May 26, features Halle Bailey as a young mermaid who rebels against her father King Triton (played by Javier Bardem) and makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula (played by Melissa McCarthy) to trade her voice for a pair of legs to explore the human world.
According to Collider, The Little Mermaid 2023's worldwide gross has already surpassed the original film's total box office earnings of $211 million. In just one week since its release, the film has earned a staggering $250 million, with a majority of its success stemming from domestic earnings. Despite lackluster international grosses, the film has already earned back its production budget and then some.
How is The Little Mermaid Comparing to Other Disney Live-Action Remakes?
The Little Mermaid is having a strong performance in the domestic box office, placing it within the top 5 of Disney's live-action remakes. Although it opened just ahead of Aladdin 2019's opening over Memorial Day weekend, it still fell behind The Jungle Book (2016), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Beauty and the Beast (2017), and The Lion King (2019). However, the film's international numbers have yet to catch up, which could potentially impede its overall success. It's worth noting that all Disney live-action films that have grossed over $1 billion have earned more in foreign markets than in the United States. In fact, The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland both earned more than double in international markets compared to their domestic earnings.
Beauty and the Beast is the only Disney live-action remake with a closer split between domestic and international grosses, with Aladdin almost doubling its domestic earnings. However, The Little Mermaid needs to significantly increase its box office numbers to reach this level. Its performance this weekend, competing with the new release Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, could determine its fate in the domestic market and ultimately affect its overall gross.
