According to the report , Disney provided The Little Mermaid with the largest global promotional partnership for the film’s marketing outside of the Star Wars and Marvel franchises . These campaigns included Mattel, McDonalds, ULTA, Kellogg’s, Booking.com and many more.
Halle Bailey starred as Ariel in the 1989 remake of the Disney animated classic. Bailey’s adaptation of the title character was widely praised by critics, although the film as a whole received overwhelmingly mixed reactions. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 67% of critics gave the film a positive review.
Viewers were much happier with the film, with 95% of them giving it a thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes. However, IMDB, which also tracks viewer reviews, said it had to revise some of its ratings overseas after it emerged that the film had fallen victim to review-bombing.
The Little Mermaid remake sparked controversy in right-wing media and some social media platforms – with users posting racist content – as Disney cast Ariel with a black actress. The trailer for the movie debuted earlier this year, sparking a debate about whether Ariel should be black or white.
Despite the controversy, The Little Mermaid was one of the most successful productions ever to debut on Memorial Day. Last year’s Top Gun Maverick topped that list with $160 million at the US box office over the long holiday weekend. The Little Mermaid was also beaten by 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($140 million) and 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($127 million) and 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand ( $127 million) 123 million dollars).
A remake of Disney’s Aladdin also debuted on Memorial Day weekend in 2019. This was a hair’s breadth from The Little Mermaid , which grossed $116.8 million in its opening weekend.
Including international box office sales, The Little Mermaid grossed $185.8 million over the weekend.
The Little Mermaid is now in cinemas.
