According to Box Office Mojo, Disney’s live-action film “The Little Mermaid” earned $117.5 million at the US box office, making it the fifth-best Memorial Day weekend opening in history.
The revamp of the 1989 Disney enlivened exemplary stars Halle Bailey as Ariel. Critics gave Bailey’s portrayal of the title character high marks, but the movie as a whole received mixed reviews. Only 67% of critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a positive review.
The film received much higher ratings from viewers, with 95% of them giving it a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. However, after discovering that the film had been the target of review-bombing, IMDB, which also tracks audience reviews, stated that it had to adjust some of its ratings in other countries.
“The Little Mermaid” revamp has been the subject of debate in conservative media and on a few social stages — with clients posting bigoted sayings — in light of the fact that Disney cast Ariel with a dark entertainer. When the movie’s first trailer debuted earlier this year, it sparked a debate regarding whether Ariel should be White or Black.
Ransack Marshall, the movie’s chief, referred to pundits’ protests about giving a Dark entertainer a role as “small-minded,” in a meeting with Vanity Fair. Many people have argued that casting a Black actress in the role helps children of African descent feel like they are included in popular culture.
In 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog,” Tiana was Disney’s first Black princess. Be that as it may, Disney has reevaluated characters initially depicted as White with entertainers of various races previously, including its 1997 revamp of “Cinderella” with Cognac, a Dark entertainer.
Box Office Mojo reported that the film was one of the most successful Memorial Day releases ever, despite the controversy. Last year’s “Top Firearm Free thinker” beat that rundown with $160 million at the US film industry over the extended vacation end of the week. ” The 2007 film “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ($140 million), 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Realm of the Gem Skull” ($127 million) and 2006’s “X-Men: The Final Stand (123 million dollars).
In 2019, Disney also released the live-action remake of “Aladdin” over Memorial Day weekend. That was just a little less than “The Little Mermaid,” which made $116.8 million its first weekend.
Over the weekend, “The Little Mermaid” earned $185.8 million, including international ticket sales.