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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:27:18 GMT -5
Source: collider.com/the-little-mermaid-budget-breakdown/'The Little Mermaid' Budget Breakdown: How Successful Is the Live-Action Remake? By Isabella Soares Published 2 hours ago
Are the film's box office returns enough to keep it swimming?
Image via Disney
What Was the Budget for The Little Mermaid?
How Does the Live-Action Budget Compare to The Little Mermaid Animated Film?
How Much Did the Cast of The Little Mermaid Make?
How Is The Little Mermaid Doing at the Box Office So Far?
Did The Little Mermaid Break Even?
Comparing The Little Mermaid Box Office Projections to Other Disney Live-Action Remakes
Disney is taking everyone under the sea with The Little Mermaid 2023 live-action remake, based on the beloved 1989 animation film. Filled with CGI advancements, there was much investment in making Ariel's tail, Sebastian and Flounder's revamped animations, and the whole environment under the sea as realistic as possible. With a significantly high budget and top-notch cast (starring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy), live actions like these are expected to soar at the box office and not only break even but become a lucrative success. After Aladdin and The Lion King's profitable returns, here's a breakdown of The Little Mermaid's budget and how its box office performance compares to previous Disney projects.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Release Date 2023-05-26 Director Rob Marshall Cast Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem Rating PG Runtime 135 minutes Main Genre Animation
What Was the Budget for The Little Mermaid?
The 2023 remake is estimated to have cost around $250 million to make and $140 million in global marketing spend, although Disney hasn't officially released the exact budget/cost of production. The Little Mermaid live-action had a similar investment value to other Disney live-action films, such as The Lion King and Aladdin. The Lion King cost $260 million, while Aladdin cost $183 million. Considering the number of technological resources used in the film, including a heavy load of CGI, the estimate made of The Little Mermaid's budget isn't very far off from what you would expect from a remake of this caliber. However, the reception towards the film (especially towards its visuals) has been mixed, which reflects on its earnings.
How Does the Live-Action Budget Compare to The Little Mermaid Animated Film?
Before getting into The Little Mermaid's box office performance, it is also worthwhile to compare the cost of production of the remake to the 1989 animation. The original Disney film cost around $40 million, which was higher than other Disney animations that were produced shortly after that. For instance, Beauty and the Beast cost $20 million, which is half of the amount spent on The Little Mermaid animation. According to Box Office Mojo, the 1989 film earned over $211 million globally. Although the animation proved to be extremely lucrative long term, it made less than the amount spent on the 2023 remake.
How Much Did the Cast of The Little Mermaid Make?
Image via Disney
According to Showbiz Galore, Halle Bailey received over $1.5 million for portraying Ariel, the iconic red-headed mermaid. As for her co-stars, Jonah Hauer-King earned $750,000 for the role of Prince Eric and Javier Bardem received $700,000 for playing King Triton. Melissa McCarthy, who played the devious Ursula in the live-action, made $500,000 for her work in the film. Other cast members received more modest salaries for their supporting roles. Noma Dumezweni made $400,000 as Queen Selina, Art Malik made $200,000 as Grimsby, Lorena Andrea made $200,000 as Perla, and Kajsa Mohammar made $170,000 as Karina. How Is The Little Mermaid Doing at the Box Office So Far?
The Little Mermaid was released just in time for Memorial Day, making about 38 million dollars domestically on its premiere day and $118.8 million 4-day opening weekend. Although the film had a decent performance in North America, it didn't soar during its opening weekend overseas. The live-action remake was expected to receive around $80 million, but it only made through to $63.8 million. Reluctance from the Chinese market may have been a determining factor when it came to earnings globally. The film only made $2.5 million in its opening weekend in the country. Over three weeks after the film hit theaters, it has made around $253 million domestically and $212 million in international territories, marking about $465 million worldwide.
Did The Little Mermaid Break Even?
Image via Walt Disney Studios
Up until now, the Disney live-action remakes have not made enough returns at the box office to break even. The Little Mermaid would need at least $500 million to be considered a success. The studios continue to aim high, projecting $1 billion before the film lands in the Disney+ catalog. On the other hand, Deadline projects that the 2023 film will make anywhere from $300-350 million domestically, and $260 million overseas. This means the film must earn at least $47 million more domestically and $48 million more internationally. Given that this is the only big-budget PG film from Disney with a summer release, there is an add-on pressure to swim against other highly-anticipated blockbuster releases, such as Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
Comparing The Little Mermaid Box Office Projections to Other Disney Live-Action Remakes
Image by Jefferson Chacon
For a film with a budget of $250 million and $140 million in global marketing spend, The Little Mermaid hasn't earned back nearly as much as other Disney live actions, such as The Lion King and Aladdin. Both films also received big budgets, as previously mentioned, but were deemed lucrative during their theatrical run in 2019. The Lion King made $1.6 billion at the box office, while Aladdin made around $1.05 billion worldwide gross. It is important to note that the latter film also premiered during the Memorial Day long weekend. Different from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin had a positive reception in China, earning $53.4 million in the country. Beauty and the Beast also did well at the box office, making $1.2 billion gross.
Although several Disney live-action were deemed lucrative, there were many hits and misses, especially considering streaming-only releases. For instance, Mulan hit theaters in 2020 during the pandemic and had nearly no domestic box office returns because most theaters in North America and around the world were shut down. According to Disney, the film made $90 million via Disney+ Premiere Access, where people could watch the live-action remake via streaming. Yet, it is also worth noting that in some places around the world, Mulan did get the opportunity to hit the big screen, and it earned around $70 million in international markets. Only time will tell whether The Little Mermaid will continue to reach enough box office returns to break even, but until then, the film is currently available to watch in theaters, and it is expected to join the Disney+ catalog once its theatrical run comes to an end.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:29:43 GMT -5
Source: screenrant.com/the-little-mermaid-remake-box-office-update-global/The Little Mermaid Box Office Passes Half A Billion (But Is It Enough?) By Brennan Klein Published 20 hours ago
The Little Mermaid, which opened in theaters on May 26, reaches the $500 million milestone this weekend, though it may not be in the black.
Halle Bailey as Ariel looking at Scuttle in The Little Mermaid live-action remake
The Little Mermaid's live-action remake is swimming against the current at the box office despite hitting a major milestone. The movie, which is a retelling of the iconic 1989 animated feature, follows young mermaid Ariel (Halle Bailey) as she trades her voice to the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) in exchange for a pair of legs with which to explore the human world. Although The Little Mermaid had a solid 3-day domestic opening weekend of $95.5 million and has continued to perform well, it has been sluggish in international markets.
Per Collider, the Little Mermaid box office has just passed a huge milestone worldwide. By the end of Sunday, the movie will have surpassed a total of $500 million. However, as it approaches what is looking like a total run of around $525 million, the movie may not end up in the black considering its costly $250 million price tag, in addition to massive publicity and advertising costs.
How The Little Mermaid Compares To Other Disney Live-Action Remakes
Ariel submerged in water in The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid's box office prospects look especially grim when compared to other recent remakes of Disney Renaissance classics. Of the 10 titles released between 1989 and 1999, Disney has already remade five, including The Little Mermaid. While Mulan had a lower box office gross, that was due to a limited, international-only theatrical run compromised by the COVID-19 closures in early 2020. The other movies - Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King - all grossed over $1 billion worldwide by the end of their respective runs.
2010's live-action Alice in Wonderland is also in the $1 billion club. In addition to those four films, The Little Mermaid was also outgrossed by 2015's The Jungle Book ($966.6 million), 2014's Maleficent ($758.4 million), and likely 2015's Cinderella ($542.4 million). This will make it the eighth highest-grossing Disney live-action remake overall.
However, the budget of The Little Mermaid means that some movies lower on the list will be more profitable despite earning less. For instance, 1996's 101 Dalmations only made $320.7 million, but its budget is a more svelte $67 million. Even with its half-billion gross, The Little Mermaid will likely end up having a run most comparable to 2019's Dumbo, which faltered with a $353.3 million total in the face of its $170 million budget.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:30:38 GMT -5
Source: geekculture.co/the-little-mermaid-live-action-has-made-half-billion-global-box-office-splash/‘The Little Mermaid’ Live Action Has Made Half Billion Global Box Office Splash A'bidah Zaid June 26, 2023 2 min read
After a month of waddling in the cinemas, Disney’s The Little Mermaid has swum to half a billion.
The live-action remake of the original animated film has grossed US$270 million domestically, and another US$229 overseas, bringing its total global haul to US$499.3 million. The Little Mermaid will pass US$500 million today and is expected to conclude its global run with an estimate of US$525 million.
The Little Mermaid had a rather rough start. The casting of 23-year-old Black actress Halle Bailey as the titular character Ariel caused a stir and lead to a wave of racist remarks. Changes to song lyrics also caused unhappiness amongst certain viewers. the little mermaid
The movie first opened with US$163.5 million and currently has a 67% Rotten Tomatoes score. Audiences have rated it a 94%. Geek Culture gave it a 7.9 out of 10 – you can read our review here.
Aside from Bailey, The Little Mermaid also stars Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. Also part of the cast is Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Awkwafina as Scuttle and Javier Bardem as King Triton.
The Little Mermaid sees the youngest of King Triton’s daughters, Ariel – a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure – longing to find out more about the world beyond the sea. Ariel visits the surface and falls for the dashing Prince Eric and makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to experience life on land.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:36:21 GMT -5
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12232851/The-Little-Mermaid-crosses-500-million-global-box-office.htmlThe Little Mermaid nears $500 million at the global box office... despite middling reviews and racial backlash against star Halle Bailey
By Brian Gallagher For Dailymail.com
Published: 01:37 BST, 26 June 2023 | Updated: 01:49 BST, 26 June 2023
Despite getting off to a somewhat slow start with a box office debut just under initial projections, The Little Mermaid has neared the $500 million worldwide box office milestone.
The beloved live-action Disney remake starring Halle Bailey took in another $8.6 million in its fifth weekend at the box office, with an additional $9.4 million in foreign markets, via Deadline.
Those figures bring its domestic total to $270.2 million and its foreign tally to $229.1 million, for a worldwide total of $499.3 million.
The film dropped just 21.5% in its fifth weekend, despite losing 205 theaters, for a revised theater count of 3,275.
It continued to perform week overseas too, with a foreign hold of just 41%, and the Disney adventure also the top box office performer in Japan for a third week in a row.
Box office: Despite getting off to a somewhat slow start with a box office debut just under initial projections, The Little Mermaid has neared the $500 million worldwide box office milestone
Disney: The beloved live-action Disney remake starring Halle Bailey took in another $8.6 million in its fifth weekend at the box office, with an additional $9.4 million in foreign markets, via Deadline
The Little Mermaid had been projected to take in over $100 million over the traditional three-day weekend and upwards of $120 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend.
The actual numbers were just a bit lower, with the three-day weekend coming in at $95.5 million from 4,320 theaters, with the four-day tally at $118.8 million.
The reviews from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes weren't terribly strong, with a 67% 'Fresh' rating, though the audience score is much higher at 94%.
The film was controversial right from the start, with the casting of 23-year-old Black actress Halle Bailey as the title character, Ariel.
The casting lead to a wave of racist remarks, claiming her casting wasn't accurate to the character from the original 1989 animated film, voiced by white voice actress Jodi Benson.
Benson herself defended the casting, revealing in July 2019, 'The most important thing is to tell the story.'
'And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves, that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside,' Benson added.
The film was produced on a budget of reportedly $250 million, with reports claiming the film would need to earn $560 million worldwide before turning a profit, after considering other costs including a massive marketing spend.
Mermaid: The Little Mermaid had been projected to take in over $100 million over the traditional three-day weekend and upwards of $120 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend
Numbers: The actual numbers were just a bit lower, with the three-day weekend coming in at $95.5 million from 4,320 theaters, with the four-day tally at $118.8 million
Reviews: The reviews from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes weren't terribly strong, with a 67% 'Fresh' rating, though the audience score is much higher at 94%
Not accurate: The casting lead to a wave of racist remarks, claiming her casting wasn't accurate to the character from the original 1989 animated film, voiced by white voice actress Jodi Benson
The Little Mermaid also found some criticism from Brazilian singer Paloma Faith, revealing she took her daughters to see the movie during its opening weekend, but she took issue with one aspect of the story.
While Faith praised actress Halle Bailey for her performance as the title character Ariel, she was not thrilled with an aspect of the plot.
'Just seen the new Little Mermaid with my kids, and while I think Halle gives an amazing performance and it's great casting, as a mother of girls, I don’t want my kids to think it’s ok to give up your entire voice and your powers to love a man,' Faith said.
'Wtf is this s***?! Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all,' she added in her Instagram story post.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:38:02 GMT -5
Source: collider.com/the-little-mermaid-global-box-office-499-million/‘The Little Mermaid’ Swims Toward Half a Billion at the Global Box Office By Rahul Malhotra Published 22 hours ago
The Disney live-action remake is the fifth-biggest Hollywood release of the year.
Image by Annamaria Ward
While overall business dipped this weekend because of a handful of under-performers, one movie quietly notched another win at the global box office. After exactly a month in theaters, Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake is passing the $500 million mark worldwide as we speak. The movie was practically written off some weeks ago after it was observed how poorly it was performing in international markets, but a steady domestic showing has ensured that it will be able to deliver a respectable total by the end of its theatrical run.
A remake of the original 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid has grossed $270 million domestically, and another $229 million from overseas territories, for a running global haul of $499.3 million. The movie will pass the $500 million mark worldwide today and is projected to conclude its global run with around $525 million. Whether this is enough to put the project in the black is up for debate, considering the mammoth $250 million that it reportedly cost to produce (minus the marketing spending). As a rule of thumb, a movie this size needs to make twice its budget theatrically to break even.
But is a break-even finish good enough for Disney at this point? The studio perhaps overestimated the film’s potential on the global stage after its last major live-action remake, Aladdin, ended up grossing over $1 billion worldwide. But The Little Mermaid brand was never quite as popular as Aladdin, which also had the added benefit of featuring a true-blue movie star — Will Smith — whose face could be plastered on all the marketing. Aladdin concluded its domestic run with $350 million after debuting with $117 million stateside; The Little Mermaid delivered an identical result on its first weekend a month ago.
The Little Mermaid poster with Ariel, Triton, Flounder, and Sebastian Image via Disney
How Does The Little Mermaid Compare to Other Disney Live-Action Remakes?
Aladdin was particularly popular in Asian markets such as Japan ($112 million), South Korea ($91 million), and China ($53 million). But The Little Mermaid has been a non-performer in each of those territories; it made just $10 million in Japan, and completely bombed in South Korea ($5 million) and China ($3.7 million). Despite that, The Little Mermaid is the fifth-biggest Hollywood release of the year at the global box office, and the fourth-biggest movie of the year domestically, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. This weekend, The Little Mermaid also swam past Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($490 million worldwide). This is likely the last Disney live-action remake (or sequel) whose global gross the movie will pass, because on the grid in front of it are Cinderella ($543 million), Maleficent ($758 million), and The Jungle Book ($966 million), not to mention four billion-dollar-plus blockbusters — Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
The Little Mermaid stars newcomer Halle Bailey, who received acclaim for her performance even as critics and audiences complained about the changes that director Rob Marshall made to the original animated film’s story. The movie also features Melissa McCarthy as the villainous Ursula and Jonah Hauer-King as Eric. You can watch our interview with the two young leads here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:42:22 GMT -5
Source: sffgazette.com/fantasy/movies/the-little-mermaids-overseas-underperformance-blamed-on-disneys-forced-inclusion-of-minorities-a5418#gs.1qtfz2THE LITTLE MERMAID's Overseas Underperformance Blamed On Disney's "Forced Inclusion Of Minorities"
Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has been making headlines in China after a record-low theatrical debut, which has been blamed on "forced inclusion of minorities." News By MarkCassidy - Jun 07, 2023 09:06 AM EST Filed Under: Movies Source: Via Toonado.com
Though Disney's remake of The Little Mermaid had a strong opening weekend in the U.S., the live-action reimagining of the animated classic has not been as well-received in certain other parts of the world.
According to THR, the movie is "getting doused" in select foreign markets, largely due to racist backlash over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role of Ariel.
While there is often outcry over what is perceived to be "forced diversity" in major studio releases, it appears to have been taken to a new level in the likes of South Korea and China.
The Middle Kingdom's government-affiliated The Global Times ran an eyebrow-raising editorial prior to the movie's release.
“The controversy surrounding Disney’s forced inclusion of minorities in classic films is not about racism, but its lazy and irresponsible storytelling strategy,” stated the op-ed. “Many Chinese netizens said that like Snow White, the image of the mermaid princess in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales has long been rooted in their hearts and it takes a leap of imagination to accept the new cast.”
While The Little Mermaid has been getting generally positive reviews (it sits at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes), some elements of the film have come in for criticism, but Bailey's performance as Ariel is the one thing that's been universally praised.
The Little Mermaid has grossed just $3.6 million in its first 10 days of release in China - by far the worst showing of any live-action Disney adaptation yet - and has taken in $4.4 million through June 4 in South Korea.
The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure.
The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric.
While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart.
She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The movie is now in theaters.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:43:40 GMT -5
Source: maxblizz.com/the-little-mermaid-grossed-500-million-at-worldwide-box-office/‘The Little Mermaid’ Grossed $500 Million at Worldwide Box Office AvatarSophie WilliamsPosted onJune 25, 2023ENTERTAINMENT, HOLLYWOOD, MOVIE NEWS, MOVIES
Walt Disney Pictures ‘The Little Mermaid‘ has grossed a total of $500 million at the worldwide box office, with $270 million earned domestically and $230 million internationally. The film now surpasses Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘ and becomes the fifth highest-grossing worldwide film of 2023.
According to Philippine TV and Film Updates, ‘The Little Mermaid’ is now the highest-grossing film in the Philippines this year, earning $5.8 million.
Walt Disney Pictures
The film follows the youngest of King Triton’s daughters, Ariel (Halle Bailey) a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Longing to find out more about the world beyond the sea, Ariel visits the surface and falls for the dashing Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Following her heart, she makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, to experience life on land.
According to our review, for fans of classic Disney magic, ‘The Little Mermaid’ brings a sense of nostalgia that hasn’t been felt in a while. It is a delightful and lovingly crafted movie that surprises with its soulful moments. Anchoring the film is Halle Bailey’s powerful and endlessly charismatic performance as Ariel. She shines brightly, delivering one of the best performances ever seen in a Disney live-action adaptation.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay written by David Magee. The film is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated film of the same name. Starring Halle Bailey in the titular role, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy.
‘The Little Mermaid’ is now playing in theaters.
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 9:50:54 GMT -5
Source: fandomwire.com/wonder-what-the-next-excuse-will-be-the-little-mermaid-crosses-coveted-500m-mark-fans-demand-racists-get-innovative-with-their-excuses/“Wonder what the next excuse will be”: The Little Mermaid Crosses Coveted $500M Mark, Fans Demand Racists Get Innovative With Their Excuses
by Ananya Godboley June 26, 2023, 10:32 am
The Little Mermaid Crosses Coveted $500M Mark, Fans Demand Racists Get Innovative With Their Excuses
The Little Mermaid has had quite a lot of media coverage, though some of it is positive, the majority of it is just negativity surrounding choices made by the production team even before its release. With the movie finally in theaters, it is doing extremely well, much to the surprise and disappointment of its haters.
The Little Mermaid Live Action
Haters have been criticizing each and every aspect of the movie, but the majority of this hate has to do with the fact that Disney decided to cast Halle Bailey, who is African American, as Arielle, the mermaid princess. In the 1989 animated version of the movie, the character of Arielle is Caucasian, so a lot of racially inclined people were quite upset with this choice
The Little Mermaid Crosses The $500 Million Mark
The Little Mermaid has been out for a month now and it has just crossed the $500 million mark in its revenue, making it the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2023. The movie made $270 million domestically, and another $229 million internationally. This is also a big deal as the film had a budget of $250 million, meaning it has made double its budget even though the movie was written off as a flop months before its release.
Halle Bailey
However, every achievement this movie has made has been discredited by its haters, which has caused fans to challenge them by asking what new excuse they have come up with to criticize its success.
Fans React To The Little Mermaid Crossing $500 Million Worldwide
After the news that The Little Mermaid has crossed the $500 million mark hit Twitter, haters were quick to discredit this achievement and make up excuses for its success, stating that the movie will not cross the one billion mark. They were also confused as to why the movie was successful, claiming it to be bad and not deserving of its success.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
I wonder what’s the next excuse will be pic.twitter.com/o00596sz0Z
— 📍SNESH📍 (@snesh921) June 25, 2023
within under a month too pic.twitter.com/J1eMacGDjc
— ~ (@hopfiims) June 25, 2023
It’s still hasn’t broke even. What are people celebrating?
— Campbell (@acam1215) June 26, 2023
Bye Bye racist jerk haters…
— Ayidan (@ayidan9) June 25, 2023
The Little Mermaid making $500 Million WW, less than a month after its release despite all the competition, nitpicking and racism >>>>>>>
— Hokage 🇧🇷 (@chevkc) June 25, 2023
Halle Berry’s couple interviews I have seen are so sweet. You can tell she really enjoyed doing this film and the whole experience, despite the stupid controversy that people were trying to make. I hope we see a lot more of her in the future.
— David Brown (@davidbr06588420) June 26, 2023
Fans, however, were even faster in calling out these people, stating that they were just looking for reasons to criticize the movie. Many were celebrating this news as it was predicted that the movie would severely underperform while some were excited that movie hit this mark despite being in theaters for only a month.
Also read: “Interesting way of fighting racism”: The Little Mermaid Suffers Major Humiliation in China, South Korea after Halle Bailey Casting Invites Insanely Racist Backlash
Source: Twitter
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Post by veu on Jun 26, 2023 16:07:26 GMT -5
Source: theblast.com/505011/the-little-mermaid-against-the-odds-edges-close-to-500m-global-box-office-milestone/‘The Little Mermaid’ Edges Close To $500M Global Box Office Milestone Home / News / ‘The Little Mermaid’ Edges Close To $500M Global Box Office Milestone by Afouda Bamidele Posted on June 26, 2023 at 11:45 am
The racist remarks against Halle Bailey have nothing on her and “The Little Mermaid“!
The movie has continued gaining public traction and is on a record-breaking track despite its slow start at the box office and the continued racist attack on Bailey. The attacks had recently seen political commentator Matt Walsh telling viewers his eponymous show that it did not “make sense to have someone with darker skin who lives deep in the ocean” from a “scientific” standpoint.
Walsh should be ready to eat those words as the live-action remake is set to hit the $500 million worldwide box office milestone, racking in more sales for its fifth weekend.
‘The Little Mermaid’ Set To Make $500 Million Milestone In Its First Five Weeks Of Release While initial projections did not look promising for “The Little Mermaid,” the live-action Disney project has continued to produce befitting results. Per Deadline, the fantasy musical film brought in an additional $8.6 million during its fifth weekend at the box office, alongside an extra $9.4 million from global sales.
With these figures, the Rob Marshall-directed film has brought its domestic total to $270.2 million and its global sales to $229.1 million, meaning its worldwide total is now $499.3 million. It also dropped 21.5% in its fifth weekend, even with losing 205 theaters, for an amended theater count of 3,275.
Halle Bailey at 'The Little Mermaid' UK film premiere MEGA
Internationally, the beloved Disney production continued its strong performance, holding the market with 41% and remaining the top box office performer in Japan for its third consecutive week.
“The Little Mermaid” was initially projected to make over $100 million during the three-day weekend, with an upward review to $120 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend.
The film made $95.5 million from 4,320 theaters during its three-day weekend and $118.8 million for the four-day count. Putting things in perspective, The Blast recorded that the original animation of the Disney film’s initial domestic screening grossed $84 million, getting an all-time domestic gross of $111 million and a worldwide total of $211 million since its 1989 release.
In addition to Walsh’s criticism of Hailey’s involvement in the project, many others have agreed that casting Hailey was an awful choice due to the 23-year-old not being suitable for the character, voiced by white actress Jodi Benson, from the original animated film. Benson has since come to the “Forgive Me” singer’s defense, declaring in July 2019:
“The most important thing is to tell the story. And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves, that we don’t see anything that’s different on the outside.”
“The Little Mermaid,” which debuted in May, features Bailey as the eponymous heroine, Ariel, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, the Crab.
Alexis Ohanian Lauded The NAACP Image Awards Nominee For Her Raw Talent In The Flick
Serena Williams' Husband Alexis Ohanian Praises 'The Little Mermaid' Success Instagram | Alexis Ohanian
The progression of the Bailey-led film has shocked naysayers who projected that it would flop since it did not have its previous white lead star in it. Amid the controversy, the other half of the musical Chloe x Halle duo touched on the backlash she has received since news of her playing the role of Ariel became public, stating:
“As a Black person, you just expect it, and it’s not a shock anymore.”
As for her being the on-screen representative for young, dark-skinned girls, the “Grown-ish” regular pointed out, “I hope that they just know that they are worthy, and we deserve to be in these spaces. And I hope they see themselves and me on the screen.” The “For the First Time” songstress further stated:
“I know people are like: ’It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, applauded the success of “The Little Mermaid,” taking to social media to query, “Where’s everyone who said this would flop?”
As The Blast observed last month, the famous Reddit founder informed his followers and fans that he and his family, including his daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. and his wife, enjoyed the two-hour-long flick.
Additionally, the doting father-of-one acknowledged the outstanding talent that Bailey exhibited in the film, giving the “Let It Shine” actress credit for her astounding musical performance.
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Post by veu on Jun 27, 2023 13:08:28 GMT -5
Source: variety.com/2023/film/news/box-office-2023-hits-misses-the-flash-super-mario-bros-1235654665/?fbclid=IwAR2YKCw16Xjs8Q1UKHom8C9_XAmERodYN45oNY-BRe40XGcCJjhBwQhRVtkFrom ‘Mario’ to ‘The Flash’: The Good, the Bad and the Meh of the 2023 Box Office (So Far) By Rebecca Rubin, Brent Lang
Universal Pictures | Walt Disney Studios | Warner Bros. Discovery It was supposed to usher in a great revival of movie-going, but as 2023 approaches its mid-point, the year has hosted more near-misses and outright disasters than genuine blockbusters.
Not that there aren’t things to celebrate. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” have generated massive business, the kind that would have been impressive in pre-COVID times. And movies like “Cocaine Bear,” “Scream VI” and “Evil Dead Rise” have been solid mid-budget hits, selling tickets in the spring and winter months when cinemas are hustling to keep seats filled.
Overall, the domestic box office stands at $4.35 billion, a 20.7% improvement over where ticket sales clocked in at the same point in the pandemic-blighted 2022, according to Comscore. So things are getting better, and there are several promising films on the horizon such as “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Barbie” that could prove to be big summer hits.
But, there’s also been a lot of red ink spilled as studios struggle to figure out what kinds of movies are compelling enough to convince people to hit the multiplexes instead of waiting a few weeks for them to bubble up on streaming. In other words, don’t hold your breath for “The Flash 2” or a new, four-hour version of Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid.”
Here’s a look at the movies that scored, struck out, or fell somewhere in the middle, during the first half of 2023.
THE GREAT
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Opening weekend: $146 million Current global gross: $1.33 billion Verdict: It’s-a blockbuster! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” holds the record for the biggest opening weekend of the year (so far) and managed to sustain that enthusiasm among audiences young and old, thanks to brand recognition and heaping doses of nostalgia for the generation-spanning video game. It’s the first movie of the year to achieve the coveted $1 billion milestone, and also the highest-grossing film based on a video game, which is no small feat considering Hollywood’s past attempts to translate stories from consoles to cinemas. A Mushroom Kingdom-sized win, any way you slice it.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Opening weekend: $118 million Current global gross: $827 million Verdict: All the concern about a softer-than-expected opening weekend for “Vol. 3” was for naught. The third installment in the James Gunn-directed trilogy rebounded nicely in the weeks following its debut, successfully avoiding the momentum problem that’s been plaguing other pandemic-era Marvel movies. No, it hasn’t eclipsed its predecessor, 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” which is the biggest of the series with $863 million. And it’s yet another recent MCU entry that failed to hit $1 billion. But “Guardians,” which has always been quirkier than its comic book universe comrades, still hit the box office trifecta.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Opening weekend: $120 million Current global gross: $560 million Verdict: “Across the Spider-Verse” is a reminder that superhero fatigue doesn’t exist when the movie is actually good. With a fresh take on the adventures of a time-tested hero, Sony’s animated comic book adaptation is another box office winner. The $100 million-budgeted sequel even surpassed the entire theatrical run of its predecessor, 2018’s Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” after less than two weeks of release. Naturally, Miles Morales, as Spider-Man is known in this universe, isn’t ready to hang up his mask. A third installment, “Beyond the Spider-Verse,” is set for 2024.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Opening weekend: $73 million Current global gross: $427 million Verdict: “John Wick 4” not only crushed the opening weekend of its predecessors, but also ended its run on the big screen as the top earner of the four films. That makes the action series, led by Keanu Reeves as a legendary assassin, one of the rare original properties to keep growing and improving upon its predecessors in terms of ticket sales. That’s good news because Lionsgate keeps upping the production budgets; “Chapter 4” has the highest price tag yet at $100 million. Odds are high (table) that Reeves isn’t retiring the nunchucks anytime soon.
Creed III
Opening weekend: $58 million Current global gross: $275 million Verdict: It could have been risky to hand the gloves of a popular franchise to its star (in his directorial debut, no less). But Michael B. Jordan, who directed and led the third installment in the “Rocky” spinoff series, deftly navigated the ring and delivered a box office knockout with “Creed III.” It bested the sequel, 2018’s “Creed II” ($214 million), as the highest-grossing entry. This round goes to Adonis.
Jesus Revolution
Opening weekend: $15.8 million Current global gross: $52 million Verdict: “Jesus Revolution,” a faith-based story starring Kelsey Grammer, isn’t necessarily one for record books. But the low-budget movie resonated enough to turn a heavenly profit in its theatrical run, demonstrating the buying power of the Bible set.
THE BLAH
Fast X
Opening weekend: $67 million Current global gross: $689 million Verdict: Weighed down by its gargantuan $340 million budget, “Fast X” will struggle to make money during its theatrical run, raising questions about whether or not this franchise is running out of gas. Domestically, where “Fast X” is hovering below the $150 million mark, the answer is yes. Overseas, where “Fast X” has earned nearly $550 million, there’s still a lot of love for Dom Toretto and crew. Look for “Fast XI” to be significantly cheaper unless Universal wants to keep making these things as write-downs.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Opening weekend: $37 million Current global gross: $208 million Verdict: Critics loved this witty, spirited take on the venerable role-playing game. The problem was audiences who weren’t well-versed in paladins, druids and bards mostly steered clear. Plus, with a production budget of $150 million, “Honor Among Thieves” will have to find a lot of loot on-demand if it’s going to heist its way into the black.
The Little Mermaid
Opening weekend: $95 million Current global gross: $503 million Verdict: Disney has enjoyed great success raiding its animation vault to turn the likes of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” into glossy live-action remakes. And, on paper, “The Little Mermaid” with its story of young love and killer soundtrack had all the ingredients of another box office magic act. So what went wrong? The film has floundered at the foreign box office, earning less than 50% of its global haul in overseas territories. In comparison, the 2019 remake of “Aladdin,” which had a similar domestic debut to “The Little Mermaid,” picked up 66% of its more than $1 billion global gross from international markets. Without that support, Ariel and company have found themselves adrift.
Air
Opening weekend: $14.4 million Current global gross: $89 million Verdict: Why pick on “Air”? For an adult drama to earn nearly $90 million at the global box office these days is nearly unprecedented. It’s a sign that audience affection for Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Viola Davis is enough to lift this story of Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan above the glut of superhero stories and sequels flooding the marketplace. All true. The problem is that “Air” cost $90 million to make, slightly more than it brought in, which doesn’t account for the tens of million spent on marketing. For Amazon, which wrote the check for the film, “Air” may move some sneakers when it debuts on Prime Video, making an unprofitable theatrical release, a much more profitable marketing venture.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Opening weekend: $6.7 million Current global gross: $21.4 million Verdict: This adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved coming-of-age novel isn’t a disaster. It received glowing reviews for the way it tenderly navigated its title character’s awkward steps into young adulthood, earning more than $20 million at the box office (a decent result for a low-key dramedy). The problem is that “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” cost $30 million to make.
THE UGLY
The Flash
Opening weekend: $55 million Current global gross: $210 million Verdict: In some alternate timeline, “The Flash,” which was touted by its own studio as “one of the greatest superhero movies of all time,” turned into a huge hit. But in this universe, audiences largely ignored the comic book adaptation, starring Ezra Miller as the eponymous speedster. It cost $200 million to make and roughly $100 million to market, so it’s shaping up to be a massive money loser for Warner Bros. It’s the second DC installment to flop in spectacular fashion after its new bosses, James Gunn and Peter Safran, announced a forthcoming reset to the sprawling superhero universe. So good luck to the two remaining DC entries in limbo, “Blue Beetle” (Aug. 18) and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Dec. 20).
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Opening weekend: $106 million Current global gross: $467 million Verdict: After scoring a trilogy-best debut, “Ant-Man 3” collapsed with less than $500 million worldwide, a benchmark that should be easy for Marvel. In turn, it’s one of the rare MCU movies to lose a lot of money in its theatrical run, serving as an unfortunate reminder that opening weekends don’t always tell the entire story. In this case, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang fumbled the chance at happily-ever-after.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods
Opening weekend: $30 million Current global gross: $133 million Verdict: “Shazam” clearly wasn’t the magic word at the box office. It’s hard to understate the theatrical tragedy of “Fury of the Gods,” one of the biggest superhero misfires in recent memory. Sure, the $100 million movie cost less than recent DC installments, like “The Flash,” but it was completely rejected by moviegoers across the globe, ending its domestic run with an embarrassing $57 million. That’s roughly the same as the original, 2019’s “Shazam,” earned in its opening weekend.
Book Club: The Next Chapter
Opening weekend: $6.7 million Current global gross: $27 million Verdict: The original “Book Club” became a sleeper hit with $100 million globally. Focus Features took over the follow-up from Paramount (which released the first) and wrongly assumed the combined wattage of Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen would be potent enough to recapture the same older audience that fell in love with the first. But the reception to the septuagenarian sequel was kind of “meh,” so moviegoers tossed aside the $20 million comedy like an old book.
Renfield
Opening weekend: $8 million Current global gross: $26 million Verdict: Pour one out for the sidekicks. “Renfield,” which focuses on Count Dracula’s rebelling servant, cratered at the box office, adding to Universal’s failed attempts to mine riches from its vast monster legacy. Its $65 million price tag makes it even more painful that ticket buyers warded off the film like a vampire would garlic.
Beau Is Afraid
Opening weekend: $2.6 million Current global gross: $10.9 million Verdict: A24 shelled out $35 million for director Ari Aster’s latest mind-bender, which fizzled after struggling to connect with mainstream audiences. Joaquin Phoenix stars in the head-trip of a movie, described by one outlet as a “three-hour-long panic attack.” It’s a tough environment for indies of any style, but offering up that kind of anxiety instead of cinematic Prozac, didn’t help to sell tickets.
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Post by veu on Jun 28, 2023 6:18:52 GMT -5
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Post by veu on Jun 28, 2023 6:24:24 GMT -5
Source: screenrant.com/the-little-mermaid-box-office-lion-king-domestic-comparison/The Little Mermaid's Box Office Letdown Looks Even Worse Compared To 1 Other Disney Remake BY ERIN JOHNSON PUBLISHED 16 HOURS AGO
When compared to one other Disney live-action remake, The Little Mermaid's box office numbers are even more disappointing than they seem.
Halle Bailey as Ariel in front of money
While The Little Mermaid (2023) is an overall enjoyable live-action reimagining, its total box office yield may turn out to be a Disney disappointment, as indications point toward the movie's surprising struggle to pass a fellow live-action's domestic haul. The Little Mermaid certainly has sizable expectations to fill that hang over the movie as it fights to pull in audiences for significant enough box office numbers. The high profits of live-action films that came before it and movie theater attendance trends undoubtedly intimidate The Little Mermaid's success, all while its immense $250 million production costs threaten the film's headway.
Still though, in a number of ways, The Little Mermaid is an improvement on other live-action remakes and the original animation. It's a suitably fun and imaginative outing that has passed the $500 million milestone at the global box office. But, The Little Mermaid's contentions seem to be overtaking its strengths, and the film's struggles have placed it far below other Disney live-action box office successes. In fact, what The Little Mermaid achieved globally and what it's predicted to achieve at the end of the day is even less than what one live-action film was able to pull off domestically.
The Little Mermaid's Worldwide Box Office Won't Beat The Lion King's Domestic Haul
Simba and Mufasa in The Lion King (2019)
The Little Mermaid has only recently made the breakthrough of the $500 million dollar mark. As the film nears the end of its fifth week in theaters, projections of The Little Mermaid's overall box office haul have come to circle around as little as $525 million worldwide. In the scope of Disney's live-action history, The Lion King (2019) made more than that domestically at $543 million.
The Lion King and other Disney's live-action remakes have created a billion-dollar trend, with The Lion King remake hitting $1.66 billion worldwide and the likes of Aladdin (2019) and The Jungle Book (2016) reaching on or around the billion-dollar mark. If The Little Mermaid's final box office projections are right, the highly anticipated remake, despite the support of massive publicity and advertising efforts, will fall short of Disney's live-action billion-dollar club. Its failure is made even worse by the insight that it won't even beat The Lion King's much more impressive domestic numbers.
What Went Wrong With The Little Mermaid's Box Office
Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid (2023)
There was plenty of hype behind The Little Mermaid remake's arrival. The film banked on Halle Bailey's impressive talent to carry its reimagining of Ariel and tantalizingly teased bits and pieces of the realistic revamp of the vast world under the sea. Judging by the numbers, however, somewhere between production and the box office, The Little Mermaid could not find and hold its traction. Although quite surprising, there are several reasons why The Little Mermaid floundered at the box office.
Disney could have simply overestimated The Little Mermaid's following - compared to The Lion King, Aladdin, and The Jungle Book's seemingly more relatable storylines, The Little Mermaid's more romantic narrative may not have struck a chord with as many viewers. In addition, many of The Little Mermaid's pre-release snippets showcased an underwater world that lacked the vibrancy viewers would expect from a Disney film. This, coupled with the ridiculous backlash against Bailey's casting, has led to international box office returns well below similar Disney princess narratives like Beauty and the Beast.
Is The Little Mermaid Going To Be A Box Office Bomb? How Much It Still Needs To Break Even
Ariel and Sebastian in The Little Mermaid (2023)
Disney's high aspirations for The Little Mermaid consequently created high production costs of $250 million that make the movie's poor box office performance a big red flag when looking to break even. According to various reports and breakdowns of numbers, The Little Mermaid is very much still in hot water. If The Little Mermaid remains in its projected scope of achieving around $525 million in total, then the movie will fail to break even and be considered a box office disappointment for Disney.
Only if The Little Mermaid makes close to $560 million at the global box office (bringing its net profit to about $71 million before participations and residuals) will the mermaid movie break even. This will be particularly hard-won for the film, as most of its money has already come off the back of its domestic box office, and it has no choice but to hope to appeal to international audiences. Even if The Little Mermaid can recover its costs, the 2023 fantasy/musical is unfortunately paling in comparison when likened to The Lion King and other Disney live-action box office feats.
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Post by veu on Jun 28, 2023 6:25:22 GMT -5
Source: utdmercury.com/the-little-mermaid-swims-to-cinematic-success/“The Little Mermaid” swims to cinematic success Despite controversy surrounding Ariel’s race, the movie flips skeptics on their backs, delivers dazzling musical score and alluring underwater visuals Umama Suriya | Mercury Staff June 27, 2023 No Comments
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS | COURTESY
Combining beautiful cinematography, stunning singing, and a colorful cast of characters, Disney’s live action “The Little Mermaid” far exceeds expectations and will enchant even the sternest of skeptics.
The discourse surrounding the release of the “The Little Mermaid”in May 2023 took social media by storm for months prior. Some groups expressed disapproval of Ariel’s race in the live-action, feeling that she should have been a white character like in the original 1989 version. However, after watching the movie, it’s clear that making Ariel a black character is a minuscule but positive change in the original storyline that is bringing diversity into Disney’s works. Disney has been including more diverse characters recently, such as Moana in the movie “Moana” and Joe in the Disney Pixar movie “Soul” — it’s an appreciated change of pace that is important for people of color because of how rarely they see themselves represented on the movie screens.
Because of all the discourse surrounding the movie, my thoughts while watching the movie were plagued with race in mind. I was excitingly overwhelmed with how much diversity was shown in the movie, as the movie showed all seven daughters of the sea as a different race. This small detail could make many kids of color feel special since they are so underrepresented on TV. = Representation and inclusivity are important for all kinds of individuals to feel that they are seen by others.
Cinematically, this movie was absolutely beautiful. The shots filmed underwater showed the beauty of the ocean, and the attention to detail in the underwater scenes was thoroughly done. Although Ariel’s mermaid outfit could have been a little more detailed, but as well her human outfits were flawless.
When it comes to the differences with the original animated version in 1989, this remake had some distinct changes. Despite the obvious being the inclusion of different races through Ariel and her other sisters, the sisters’ backstories were completely erased. In the original, there is a song that essentially lets the sisters talk. In the remake, it seems as if the sisters are only there to show viewers that Ariel has siblings instead of being separate important characters. This makes me wonder if Disney has future movie plans to dive into these sister’s backstories and personalities because I truly want to see who they are and I’m sure other fans of this movie would appreciate that as well.
Another change that I noticed is that Ariel was the one that killed Ursula in the end. However, in the original, Prince Eric is the one that leads to impaling Ursula. This remake having Ariel impale Ursula gives it a twist and portrays Ariel as a strong female character. It’s also incredible to see a princess defeat her villain in a movie since we usually see a “knight in shining armor” or a prince that saves the princesses. There are surely more plot differences, but this is the biggest one that stood out to me
Some of the songs are also different in the remake from the original, and this change made the movie stand out in the way it did. Halle Bailey’s stunning voice in the song “Part of Your World” gave me goosebumps in the movie theatre, and is even better than the original version.
Halle Bailey did an incredible job playing Ariel – she was the perfect person for the role. Her voice is stunning, angelic, and heavenly. Melissa McCarthy’s performance as Ursula is runner-up for my favorite in the movie, with her character’s subtle comedy making all her scenes memorable. Despite being known for her comedic roles, McCarthy played the villain’s role flawlessly. Jonah Hauer-King also played Prince Eric’s role perfectly as well and really brought a lot of charm and compassion to Eric’s character.
Despite the drama this movie caused, “The Little Mermaid” seems to be doing extremely well, grossing $413 million to date. I give this movie a 9/10 and recommend it to anyone that wants to see an old Disney fairytale include diversity extremely well.
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Post by veu on Jun 30, 2023 4:05:56 GMT -5
Source: screenrant.com/the-little-mermaid-box-office-500-million-disney-remakes-comparison/Other Disney Remakes Prove How Slow The Little Mermaid Was To $500 Million By Jessica Smith Published 13 hours ago
The Little Mermaid was a slow burn at the box office and its comparison to Disney’s other live-action remakes proves it just was not as successful.
Disney; Halle Bailey; The Lion King; Aladdin
The Little Mermaid is Disney’s latest remake but it took a lot longer to reach $500 million at the box office compared to its predecessors. Disney has been remaking all of their classic animated movies since 1994 with The Jungle Book, although this has since been remade again in 2016. 2010’s Alice in Wonderland could be considered the start of the recent outpouring of live-action remakes from Disney, as 17 remakes have been made since then. Disney’s live-action remakes are controversial as audiences are not keen on their favorite animated movies being remade but some have become big box office successes. SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The Little Mermaid had a lot of unfair backlash around it due to Disney casting a black actor, Halle Bailey, in the role of Ariel. Bailey’s casting has proved to be perfect with reviews hailing the actor and her singing. The Little Mermaid has received very good Rotten Tomatoes scores from both critics and audiences, yet its box office has not reflected that. There was some concern about the CGI use of animals, something The Lion King was slated for, but even Flounder and Sebastian were commended and the remake as a whole was deemed a success.
How Long Other Disney Remakes Took To Make $500m Compared To The Little Mermaid
Halle Bailey as Ariel in the Little Mermaid with Disney's live-action Cinderella and Mulan
The Little Mermaid's box office has taken just over a month to reach $500 million worldwide, which does not seem horrendous but is not nearly Disney’s best performance. Beauty and the Beast takes that spot as it hit half a billion on its second weekend, only its 8th day of release. Aside from Cinderella, which took 54 days to reach $500 million, all of Disney’s live-action remakes which have it $500 million have done so in under 24 days, and four movies did it in 10 days or less.
Cinderella did not make much more than $500 million, hitting $542,351,353 overall so it can be classed as an anomaly against the other live-action remakes. The Disney live-action remakes which did reach the half-a-billion mark quickly went on to reach over $1 billion or get close enough. Although The Little Mermaid has beaten many of Disney’s other live-action remakes, the length of time taken for it to reach $500 million compared to its predecessors suggests it will not manage much more at the box office.
Why The Little Mermaid Took So Long To Make $500 Million & Disappointed At The Box Office
Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid has been a hit with audiences and critics so it is strange that its box office has not reflected that, although there are multiple reasons why. Firstly, the backlash surrounding The Little Mermaid has meant some may have refused to watch it in theaters. Forgetting the movie is a reimagining, some audiences were against casting a Black actor as Ariel so may have boycotted the movie to reflect that. Thankfully, this idea has not impacted the movie too harshly and most people have loved Bailey’s version of Ariel. Another reason is that audiences are bored of Disney’s live-action remakes.
Disney’s live-action remakes were exciting when they first started and told new stories of beloved characters, such as Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland. It also didn't help that the visuals for The Little Mermaid, particularly the underwater scenes, looked drab and unfinished in the marketing campaign. The biggest issue for theatrical performance is streaming services. Disney+ shot to popularity in 2020, and none of its remakes since then have hit the $500 million mark. Knowing movies will soon release on streaming puts audiences off from going to the cinema. The Little Mermaid's box office is excellent compared to Disney’s post-streaming service launch so could still be considered a theatrical success.
Source: Box Office Mojo
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Post by veu on Jul 1, 2023 4:19:45 GMT -5
Source: www.cnbc.com/2023/06/30/the-10-highest-grossing-movies-of-2023-so-far.htmlPOP CULTURE AND MEDIA From ‘Super Mario’ to ‘The Little Mermaid’: The 10 highest-grossing movies of the first half of 2023 Published Fri, Jun 30 20232:00 PM EDT
Nicolas Vega
At the halfway point of the year, the Hollywood box office has been dominated by familiar faces.
From a 10th entry in the “Fast & Furious” franchise to a capstone on Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, nothing has gotten audiences to the multiplex like existing intellectual property (IP).
“Pretty much every film in the top 10 is either a franchise film, part of known IP or a known brand,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, tells CNBC Make It.
It’s a repeat of 2022, where nine of the 10 highest grossing films were sequels. The outlier, DC’s “The Batman,” featured the audience-favorite caped crusader.
The $4.35 billion raked in by the domestic box office so far is 20.7% higher than at the same point in 2022, according to data from Comscore, and a full 350% better than 2021′s pandemic-stunted haul.
However, it is still 20% shy of 2019′s pre-pandemic gross over the same time frame.
Pretty much every film in the top 10 is either a franchise film, part of known IP or a known brand. Paul Dergarabedian - ANALYST, COMSCORE
So far only one 2023 release has crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” In 2019, five films achieved 10-figure ticket sales.
“It’s definitely trending in the right direction,” Jeff Bock, a media analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. tells CNBC Make It. “But there’s still a ways to go.”
With the hotly-anticipated releases of “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and the latest installment in Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” franchise looming in July, the box office isn’t going to be slowing down any time soon.
“It really is an incredible success story to see this kind of recovery from an industry that I think a lot of people thought was never going to come back,” Dergarabedian says.
These are the 10 highest-grossing films of the year as of June 25, 2023, according to Comscore data.
10. ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’
Release date: March 31, 2023
Worldwide gross: $208.1 million
9. ‘Creed III’
Release date: March 3, 2023
Worldwide gross: $274.4 million
8. ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’
Release date: June 9, 2023
Worldwide gross: $329.6
7. ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’
Release date: March 24, 2023
Worldwide gross: $432.5 million
6. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’
Release date: February 17, 2023
Worldwide gross: $471.3 million
5. ‘The Little Mermaid’
Release date: May 26, 2023
Worldwide gross: $490.6 million
4. ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’
Release date: June 2, 2023
Worldwide gross: $540.9 million
3. ‘Fast X’
Release date: May 19, 2023
Worldwide gross: $688.1 million
2. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
Release date: May 5, 2023
Worldwide gross: $824.1 million
1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Release date: April 5, 2023
Worldwide gross: $1.3 billion
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Post by veu on Jul 4, 2023 16:34:49 GMT -5
Source: toonado.com/disney/the-little-mermaid-will-likely-outgross-two-of-the-summers-biggest-movies-despite-backlash-a7669#gs.2rfu9eTHE LITTLE MERMAID Will Likely Outgross TWO Of The Summer's Biggest Movie's Despite Backlash
Despite it initially looking like The Little Mermaid might underperform at the box office, all signs point to Disney's live-action remake outgrossing the combined totals of two summer blockbusters...
News By JoshWilding - Jul 04, 2023 09:07 AM EST Filed Under: Disney
Despite the backlash aimed at The Little Mermaid when it was announced that Halle Bailey would play Ariel, all signs pointed to it potentially being one of the year's biggest hits.
The movie hasn't quite taken off in the way many expected, but despite a solid opening, lower-than-expected numbers in countries like China and South Korea led to speculation it would ultimately result in a rare loss for Disney.
With a rumoured production cost of $250 million and a massive $140 million global marketing spend, a final global haul of anywhere in the low $400 million range all but guarantees it won't turn a profit.
However, business has since picked up, as The Little Mermaid passed $524 million worldwide this weekend.
It may not be a $1 billion mega-hit, but as things stand, the live-action remake looks set to end its box office run having grossed more than The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny combined.
No one saw that coming, especially when the former was billed as "the greatest superhero movie ever" and the latter is a farewell to one of cinema's most iconic characters.
The fact The Little Mermaid, which itself has somewhat underperformed, topped them...well, it shows what a sorry state the box office is in.
Can Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Oppenheimer, and Barbie save the day?
We'll see.
The Little Mermaid stars singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, with Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
The movie is currently playing in theaters.
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Post by veu on Jul 5, 2023 4:39:26 GMT -5
Ethnic / Gender composition of the audience for top grossing films in North America 2023 (till 2023.07.02):
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Post by veu on Jul 5, 2023 4:42:08 GMT -5
Source: deadline.com/2023/07/box-office-summer-indiana-jones-spiderman-little-mermaid-disney-1235429523/Midsummer Box Office Hitting $1.88 Billion, -2% From 2022
By Anthony D'Alessandro
July 3, 2023 2:29pm
Summer 2023 box office at $1.88 billion before July 4
From left: Summer 2023's top 3 movies to date: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,' 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' and 'The Little Mermaid' Everett Collection
We’ve had a couple of tentpole missteps here this summer, read Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny this weekend with $60M, The Flash and Elemental; putting the running summer box office at $1.88 billion for May 1-July 2.
That’s close to -2% off from the $1.91 billion reached over the same frame last year. All these figures come from Comscore.
While the pacing isn’t terrible, the overall industry always likes to exceed year-over-year, especially after that disastrous pandemic that forced theaters to close in 2020 through early March 2021. Summer 2020 for the May 1-July 2 period only grossed $47.3M.
Next to the pre-pandemic summer 2019, which was on Viagra and steroids led by Disney/Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame (delivering $416.7M for that May 1-July 2 play period), summer 2023 is 17% behind that midsummer, which accumulated $2.27 billion.
Still, there’s a lot of hope in July with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One set to open to a franchise-record $100M over 5 days, and the Barbie-and-Oppenheimer weekend fueling what could be a near-$200M weekend over July 21-23 for all films.
Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian points out, “The fortunes of the summer can be perceived as rich or fallow depending on which week is being examined and with many weeks and numerous potential high-profile blockbusters on the way in July and August, it’s way too early to characterize the overall summer box office performance as a hit or a miss.”
Even though we’re slightly behind 2022, we could be ahead ultimately, as Dergarabedian says, “August could be the unexpected savior and take the summer out with a bang instead of a whimper as happened last year.” Remember, Sony’s Bullet Train was the last huzzah last summer before studio movies went dry to the post-pandemic logjam in post-production. This August we have marquee fare in Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 2), Warner Bros’ The Meg 2 (August 4), Universal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter (August 11), Sony’s Gran Turismo (August 11), Universal’s raunchy R-rated talking-animals comedy Strays (August 18), Warner Bros/DC’s Blue Beetle (August 18) and Sony’s The Equalizer 3 (September 1).
Disney, despite stumbling with Dial of Destiny and Elemental, is leading all studios at the summer box office thus far with an estimated $811M, per Deadline calculations, and from a diverse slate that includes 20th Century Studios fare and tentpoles. That’s more than the combined $620M that Universal and Sony have pulled in for the beach season. Disney is providing a diverse slate of theatrical releases to cinemas post-pandemic, and it’s largely being very good about long windows (none of this 17-days-to-Disney+ stuff); all this despite the beating the studio took for going theatrical day-and-date on their streaming service back in summer 2021 under the CEO Bob Chapek era.
Summer currently reps 42% of the $4.5M running domestic box office cume this year for January 1-July 2. Overall, 2023 is 18% ahead of 2022 and 21% behind 2019.
Currently Disney owns five of the top 10 movies in summer; here is the list for May 1-July 2:
1.) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Dis) – $354.8M
2.) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) – $339.8M
3.) The Little Mermaid (Dis) – $281M
4.) Fast X (Uni) – $145.4M
5.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) – $136.1M
6.) The Flash (WB) – $99.2M
7.) Elemental (Dis) – $88.7M
8.) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Ill/Uni) – $82.6M (of a total cume that is $573.4M)
9.) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) – $60M
10.) Boogeyman (Dis/20th) – $40.9M
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Post by veu on Jul 6, 2023 5:56:00 GMT -5
Disney makes so much money off merchandise, they don’t need to make their money at the box office like other studios desperately need. Like we been saying Variety about The Little Mermaid and Marvel franchises. Source: variety.com/2023/film/news/disney-box-office-failures-indiana-jones-elemental-ant-man-1235660409/?fbclid=PAAabvSt2Ba9sLTaR-TUUqe-1_oEjwhBHEhFGdMKWO7gdCxJ5SX8mXiBWM1u4_aem_AVFPYPe6LH6h4XChLqbITsYpfTHPcwrgwSPF2XscQefxa0YIbERVSnyvQcZnBeqvmuUDisney’s Harsh New Reality: Costly Film Flops, Creative Struggles and a Shrinking Global Box Office By Rebecca Rubin, Brent Lang
For the past decade, Disney has been the Teflon movie studio, remarkably adept at withstanding the tectonic changes impacting the film industry, and well fortified by its arsenal of key properties such as Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.
But this year, the long-reigning titan of the box office has shown cracks as four of its biggest releases from those brands and others have struggled in theaters. There was the dispiriting release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” a rare Marvel movie to likely lose tens of millions in its theatrical run; “The Little Mermaid,” a remake of the 1989 animated classic that fell drastically short of expectations; “Elemental,” an original story that tried and failed to recapture Pixar’s magic; and most recently “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” a nearly $300 million investment in one of cinemas’ most venerable franchises, which no longer appears to have the same hold on today’s audiences. On paper, these films seemed like they had all of the makings of huge hits, but somehow the Disney sparkle was lacking this time, in terms of filling movie theater seats.
Barring a miracle –- or a sudden surge of interest in all things “Haunted Mansion” — “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” looks like it’ll be the studio’s biggest earner of the year with $835 million. It’s the first time since 2014 (except for the pandemic-stricken years of 2020 and 2021) that Disney won’t have a movie that reaches $1 billion. It also marks a shift from 2022, which saw the studio release not only hits like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but also “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the third-highest grossing film in history.
Even if that’s the case, Disney still far outranks the competition in terms of market share in 2023, commanding 37% of the industry’s revenues (Universal is close behind at 31%). But ticket sales for the films it has produced have been more Earth-bound, especially compared to the last pre-COVID year, when Disney fielded a record seven movies that crossed the billion-dollar mark in 2019. In many cases, reviews for recent releases haven’t been standout, with critics being particularly scathing about “Quantumania” and openly questioning the need for a fifth “Indy” adventure. Audiences have been kinder, giving these movies respectable ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore.
There are other issues bedeviling the Magic Kingdom these days. Because of its all-tentpole, all-the-time strategy, Disney’s movies each require production budgets of at least $200 million — plus marketing costs of roughly $100 million. That means the studio’s films have a higher benchmark than its rivals to break even at the box office. In the past, those budgets were justified with movies that crossed $1 billion worldwide with ease. Those price tags are riskier in today’s box office landscape, with China’s dollars no longer a guarantee due to tensions with the West and changing tastes. Russia, another major market, is entirely cut off from Hollywood movies after its invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the international box office has diminished to a shadow of its former self, and that has major consequences for Disney’s profitability. To be fair, every studio is grappling with these punishing realities as the box office remains down roughly 20% from pre-pandemic times, but Disney has historically enjoyed such a track record of success and its issues are casting a pall over the movie business.
“Anything Disney threw out in 2019 made $1 billion,” says Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “Now, it’s more difficult than ever to release a film worldwide. The international landscape has changed. It’s not close to back.”
The problem is that getting these costs under control will take time. Major movies take at least three to four years to develop, produce and distribute — a lifetime in a fast-changing industry. Even if Disney is serious about tightening its belt, it may not make a noticeable difference until 2026 or beyond.
“It takes a long time for a big ship like Disney to change course,” says Paul Verna, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.
Some of these bloated budgets on 2023 releases reflect the tens of millions that were racked up from pandemic delays and enhanced COVID testing. That should ease as the pandemic becomes a less disruptive force, which should be a key source of cost savings. Beyond that, there are questions about where else Disney may save money — will it be in marketing the movies it produces or in cutting back on special effects and other cinematic set-pieces?
“If you cut costs, do you degrade the quality of the product?” says Brandon Nispel, an equity research analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets. “If you spend less, do people like the movies you are making less? And how much and how fast can you start cutting?”
The turn in fortunes isn’t only due to market conditions, but also a mix of creative shortfalls and outsized attention on streaming. Disney’s banner year in 2019, with the releases of “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen II” and more, came before Disney+ launched and squashed the need for repeat viewings in theaters. With “Endgame,” for example, people went to the movies three, four, even five times to watch the epic blockbuster that bid adieu to some of Marvel’s biggest heroes. Now, there’s less of a need to make multiple trips to the multiplex. Moviegoers can wait a matter of months (or less) for a film to land on streaming and satisfy the need for a rewatch.
“People have become conditioned to expect that things will quickly appear on Disney+,” says Neil Macker, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar Research Services. “The theatrical movie business has been in decline for awhile and the pandemic accelerated that.”
Pixar has suffered the most from that mindset, analysts believe. The animation empire has been struggling since the onset of COVID, when several of its titles were sent directly to Disney+ and trained family audiences to watch its movies at home. It’s re-entering the theatrical ring with heightened competition in the animation space from Illumination (“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru”), DreamWorks (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”) and Sony Pictures Animation (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”). And those companies spend a fraction of Pixar’s budget to bring its animated adventures to life. Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which is expected to be the year’s highest-grossing film with more than $1.3 billion in revenues, cost $100 million to bring to life. That’s roughly half of what Pixar shelled out for “Elemental,” which has yet to crack $200 million globally. Rival studios believe that Disney’s animated efforts have become too twee and lack the more populist edge of “Mario” or Paramount’s upcoming “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” reboot.
“Pixar is becoming an anemic brand,” notes Verna. “It’s fallen so far from the days in in which anything it released would blow the doors off.”
“Star Wars,” too, has lost its luster in theaters as the franchise set in a galaxy far, far away has found repeated success on Disney+ with series like “The Mandalorian” and “Andor.” But following the 2019 release of “The Rise of Skywalker,” Lucasfilm’s efforts to get another trilogy off the ground have proceeded in fits and starts, with several high-profile projects being announced only to disappear into development limbo. Disney has planted three “Star Wars” films on the release calendar in 2026 and 2027, but hasn’t revealed any details about those movies.
“I’ll believe there’s a new ‘Star Wars’ movie when I’m seated in the theater and seeing the opening crawl,” says Josh Spiegel, a freelance film critic who specializes in Disney. “There have been so many false starts.”
As a sprawling media conglomerate, Disney is facing issues on all fronts. Bob Iger, who returned as CEO after a brief hiatus and displaced his successor Bob Chapek, is simultaneously battling Wall Street’s unrest over the unprofitability of Disney+, concerns that Disney’s parks business may have alienated customers with its higher prices, and a rise in cord cutting that’s imperiling its cable properties like ESPN. These are all doing more to depress Disney’s share price (which is down nearly 7% year-over-year) than the struggles with its latest movies.
“Streaming was positioned as the greatest business ever, and it didn’t live up to the hype,” says Nispel. “Disney’s losing more money than people thought it would, and the market became saturated more quickly than people expected. At the same time, the ground is shifting under linear TV and the parks business that had been a cash cow hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic. Those are far bigger problems.”
And yet, Disney’s film business has long been an important stabilizing force, with the studio dwarfing the competition. And there’s been a very successful formula that Disney has deployed — not so much leaning into nostalgia as diving in head first — which may no longer be as effective. Live-action remakes of classics such as “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Jungle Book” were theatrical goldmines, even as those films were criticized by some as shot-for-shot remakes of the originals. At that time, the Disney name alone was enough to cut the noise in a crowded market. But the lackluster global turnout for “The Little Mermaid” is a sign that brand familiarity is no longer the ticket to get people to go to theaters. And the failure of the latest “Ant-Man” indicates the studio may need to be more judicious in the sequels it decides to back. That’s an issue because the studio has found less success in launching new original franchises, other than “Frozen.”
“Disney desperately needs to create something new,” Spiegel says. “It does a good job at cannibalizing itself. They remake their movies and echo what they’ve done in the past. At a certain point, there won’t be a whole lot for them to echo.”
More than its competitors, Disney can withstand some of its movies functioning as loss leaders. In addition to racking up ticket sales, the studio’s films are designed to boost interest in toys and theme parks. So although “The Little Mermaid” barely floated past the $500 million mark, the return of Ariel is helping to sell themed Legos, backpacks, dolls, bedding and nail polish. The same goes for underperforming Marvel adventures like “Ant-Man,” which brings an influx of interest to Avengers Campus, a Marvel Cinematic Universe–themed area at the Disney California Adventure park.
“They may not make it at the box office, but Disney will make up for it in merchandise sales and the longevity of the property,” says Bock. “That’s a lot different than Paramount or Sony, who needs to make all their money back at the box office.”
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Post by veu on Jul 6, 2023 14:26:57 GMT -5
Source: deadline.com/2023/07/disney-2023-box-office-summer-marvel-indiana-jones-1235431049/Disney, Despite ‘Indy’ & ‘Elemental’ Misfires, Leading 2023 Global Box Office With $3.4B
By Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office Editor
July 6, 2023 10:12am
We can knock Disney all we want over less-than stellar post-Covid results on Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm titles, but the fact of the matter is the brands are still delivering, making the theatrical motion picture studio the continued box office leader with $3.4 billion worldwide for the period of Jan. 1-July 2.
That breaks out to $1.35 billion domestic and $2.05 billion abroad, and this is off of seven theatrical releases so far in 2023. Exhibitors can continue to give thanks that the former practitioner of theatrical day-and-date on streaming is no longer doing so and committed to a theatrical window, thus seeing the financial vibrancy of a downstream model post-pandemic. The riches of that trigger concession sales for theater owners and other exhibition ancillary businesses and beyond (i.e. Imax).
Disney’s global take so far this year is 3.9x that of Paramount’s ($871M with five movies), 3.8x that of Warner Bros ($898M with six movies) and 3.1x that of Sony ($1.1 billion with 15 movies) and more than Paramount and Warner Bros combined. Universal is second for the year to date with an estimated $2.89 billion off 14 titles, propelled by Illumination’s Super Mario Bros at $1.33 billion, the highest grossing film of 2023 YTD.
Disney is also leading at the U.S./Canada box office towering ahead of Universal ($1.13B), Sony ($589M), Paramount ($398M) and Warner Bros ($264M). As we told you a few days ago, Disney is also No. 1 at the summer stateside box office with $811M, generating 44% of the near $1.9 billion season for May 1-July 2.
In the Disney Marvel Studios box office war with Warner Bros. DC, the last three Marvel movies —Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 combined totaled $2.1 billion worldwide which blows away DC’s trio of Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash which did $773M worldwide. GOTG3 is the second highest grossing movie of the year at $837M, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at $476M is bigger than Black Adam‘s $393.2M last year.
Among the top 20 grossing films of the year to date, Disney owns five of them: GOTG3 ($837M), Little Mermaid ($525M, No. 5), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476M at No. 6), Elemental at No. 12 with $188M and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with $131M at No. 16.
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