‘The Little Mermaid’ Swims Past Major Domestic Box Office Milestone

As it enters its third weekend of release, Disney’s The Little Mermaid is delivering bittersweet results at the box office. The live-action remake of the classic 1989 cartoon passed a significant milestone domestically but is continuing to struggle for breath in overseas markets. After 13 days in theaters worldwide, The Little Mermaid has grossed $201 million stateside, and another $140 million overseas, for a running global haul of $342 million. If all goes well, the movie will pass the $400 million mark over the weekend.

Released in May, The Little Mermaid delivered a solid $117 million haul over its extended four-day debut weekend. This put it ahead of Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin, which made a little under $117 million in the same frame. That film legged it to over $350 million domestically and a staggering $1 billion worldwide. The Little Mermaid won’t come close to that global figure, mainly because of how subpar its performance has been in international territories. It has, however, become only the fourth Hollywood production of the year to pass the $200 million mark domestically.

Disney spared no expense in producing it and allocated a massive $250 million budget to achieve its unique combination of underwater effects and creature animation. By comparison, Aladdin reportedly cost $183 million to produce. The Little Mermaid has drawn mixed reactions from critics and audiences, who’ve appreciated newcomer Halle Bailey‘s central performance, but also complained about the changes that were made to the animated original. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime called it “one of the rare live-action remakes that manages to capture that Disney magic” in his review.

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How Does ‘The Little Mermaid’ Compare to Other Disney Remakes?

The movie’s $201 million domestic haul puts it ahead of fellow Disney live-action remakes such as Cinderella ($201 million), Dumbo ($114 million), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($113 million) and Alice Through the Looking Glass ($77 million). Next up, it’ll set its sights on the first Maleficent‘s $241 million domestic haul. In terms of worldwide grosses, The Little Mermaid‘s $342 million running total puts it ahead of Alice Through the Looking Glass ($299 million), Cruella ($229 million), and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ($215 million). In the next couple of days, it should surpass Dumbo‘s underwhelming lifetime global haul of $353 million, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely for it to come close to some of the bigger live-action remakes released by Disney over the last decade, four of which, including Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, have grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

The Little Mermaid also features the scene-stealing Melissa McCarthy as the villainous Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Javier Bardem, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, and Art Malik. You can watch an interview with Bailey and Hauer-King here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.