Disney’s The Little Mermaid took first place at the box office over Memorial Day weekend, grossing an estimated $118 million.
The live-action remake, which is also mixed with CGI animation, stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, whose casting initially sparked backlash, Melissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric.
On Friday alone, the film grossed $38 million in ticket sales to celebrate the theatrical release of the highly anticipated summer season kick-off project.
As of Sunday, The Little Mermaid grossed $96 million at the box office, and over the holiday weekend the film is expected to gross $118 million in domestic markets, making it the fifth-highest Memorial Day opening day in history, according to Variety might .
Last year in 2022, Top Gun: Maverick became the highest-grossing film to debut Memorial Day weekend at $160.5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Successful Debut: Disney’s The Little Mermaid took first place at the box office over Memorial Day weekend with a whopping debut grossing an estimated $118 million
Box office: The live-action remake features Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as the sea witch Ursula, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric
In second place are Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End at $153 million, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at $151.9 million, and X-Men: The Last Stand at $122.9 million. Dollar.
Internationally, The Little Mermaid grossed a lesser $68.3 million in 51 markets, while grossing just over $2 million in China, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Following the overall success of the film’s debut, Tony Chambers, Disney’s sales director, stated, according to Variety, “It’s a classic.” “If you ask a lot of women or men my age, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ are her favorite cartoons.”
“It’s a story that takes them back to their respective childhoods and this film is the perfect opportunity for many people to pass that love on to the next generation,” he continued.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore, also commented on the positive opening weekend of the Disney live-action remake. “This gives Disney the green light to proceed with the dismantling of its vault.”
“With an opening this big, I think you’re going to keep seeing these live-action reboots.” Other classics salvaged from the Vault and turned into reboots include Cinderella (2015) and Beauty and the Beast the beast” (2017).
The original animated film The Little Mermaid, which premiered in theaters in 1989, starred Jodi Benson as Ariel and grossed approximately $211 at the worldwide box office. The film also received two Academy Awards for Best Original Music and Best Original Song.
Audiences are expected to continue to flock to theaters to see the live-action, which will help offset the $250 million budget dedicated to bringing the story back to the big screen.
Big Numbers: As of Sunday, The Little Mermaid grossed $96 million at the box office, and over the entire holiday weekend, the film is expected to gross $118 million in domestic markets
Grateful: Halle Bailey took to her Instagram Stories to express her excitement at the film becoming the number one movie in the world
Just behind The Little Mermaid at the weekend box office is Fast X, which was relegated to second place, Variety reported.
Last weekend, the sequel to the popular franchise grossed $67 million for its premiere, propelling the film to number one.
The film is estimated to have grossed a total of $28.7 million during the long holiday, for a total grossing of approximately $113 million since its debut.
Unlike Disney’s The Little Mermaid, international sales for Fast
At number three is another sequel to a popular franchise: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, which grossed $25.3 million.
The film was released earlier this month on May 5 and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Will Poulter, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel and other A-stars.
Second: Just behind The Little Mermaid at the weekend box office is Fast X, which was relegated to second place, Variety reported.
Franchise: The film is estimated to gross $28.7 million over the long holiday, for a total grossing of approximately $113 million since its debut
Top Three: In third place is another sequel to a popular franchise: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, which grossed $25.3 million
Fourth is The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is estimated to gross $8.3 million over the holiday weekend. The animation stars are Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black and Seth Rogen.
Despite hitting theaters in early April, the project still holds a solid place in the top five and has already grossed a whopping $1.2 billion in worldwide box office.
In fifth place, according to The Numbers, is Sony’s comedy The Machine, starring Bert Kreischer, which grossed around $4.9 million.
In sixth place is another comedy called About My Father by Lionsgate, which grossed $4.2 million. Other films that could potentially compete at the box office include Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and The Boogeyman, which hits theaters next week on June 2nd.