The Halle Bailey-led film The Little Mermaid swam against the currents of criticism during the Memorial holiday as it hauled in nearly $100 million during its opening weekend.
When industry pundits estimated the entire four-day holiday box-ffice total, the $95.5 total jumps to $117.5 million, making The Little Mermaid the fifth largest Memorial Day weekend debut in the history of American motion pictures, Variety magazine reports.
This is quite the box-office performance considering the insidious racial undertones the film was beset with during the making of the film and during post-production. Little Mermaid supplanted Fast X, the 1oth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise that stars Vin Diesel, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson. Variety reports that Fast X is expected to make $28 million by the end of the holiday weekend to bring its total to $113.6M, which some consider a disappointment. However, unlike The Little Mermaid, Fast X was well-received overseas and therefore the global total could top $500 million by the end of the weekend.
Internationally, The Little Mermaid grossed $68.3 million from 51 material markets, but it was beset by bad reviews before the movie was released, which some attributed to racism in some foreign countries. There were warnings about the film in the United Kingdom and France, and The Little Mermaid completely bombed in China, Variety reports.
This could hurt The Little Mermaid’s ability to break even. The film had a $250 million budget, therefore the momentum will need to continue to earn a profit.
Despite the obstacles in the remake of the 35-year-old classic, the studio is proud of its product.
“It’s a classic,” said Tony Chambers, Disney’s head of distribution. “You ask a lot of women or men of my age and it’s ‘Little Mermaid’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ that rank as their favorite animated movie. It’s a story that takes them back to their respective childhoods and this movie is the perfect opportunity for a lot of people to pass that love on to the next generation.”
