‘The Little Mermaid’ Global Box Office Sails Past New Milestone
Written by on June 12, 2023
Is The Little Mermaid a hit, or not? The answer changes with each new layer of context that you bring to the table. On the face of it, the fact that Disney’s live-action remake of the classic 1989 animated film has now passed the $400 million mark globally is worth celebrating. But when you consider that more than half of that has come from domestic theaters, the achievement loses some of its value. And then, when you take into account that the movie cost a reported $250 million to produce (minus marketing), that $400 million number doesn’t look so special after all.
The rule of thumb is that a movie of this size needs to gross twice its budget in theaters to break even, which means that The Little Mermaid, after two full weeks of release, is still in the red. And it’s currently pacing to conclude its global run with around $500 million, which would barely put it in the clear. The Little Mermaid added an estimated $22 million from domestic theaters this weekend, taking its running total to $228 million. The movie has made around $185 million from overseas territories so far, for a running worldwide haul of $413 million, according to Variety.
It opened to mixed reviews last month, and is currently sitting at a “fresh” 68% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. But it earned a solid A CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and Collider’s own Ross Bonaime wrote that it is “one of the rare live-action remakes that manages to capture” the magic of the original. While audiences have been unanimously kind toward newcomer Halle Bailey’s starring performance, fans of the animated classic have complained about the changes that veteran Disney director Rob Marshall brought to the remake.
The Little Mermaid grossed a promising $117 million in its domestic debut, which was virtually identical to what Aladdin made in its first weekend in 2019, also during the Memorial Day extended weekend. But that film legged it to over $350 million domestically, and more than $1 billion worldwide. While those global figures are going to be impossible to match, each passing day suggests that The Little Mermaid might struggle to surpass Aladdin even at the domestic box office.
How Does the Movie Stack Up Against Other Disney Live-Action Remakes?
The film’s $413 million worldwide haul puts it ahead of fellow Disney live-action remakes (and their sequels) such as Dumbo ($353 million), Alice Through the Looking Glass ($299 million), Cruella ($229 million), and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ($215 million). Next up, it will target the lifetime global haul of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($491 million), but that’s about it. Even Cinderella’s $543 million global haul seems out of reach at this point, and there’s an ocean separating it from the highest-grossing Disney live-action remakes — Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, each of which made over $1 billion worldwide.
The Little Mermaid also stars Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King, Noma Dumezweni, Daveed Diggs, Javier Bardem, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, and Art Malik. You can watch our interview with Marshall here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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