After a modest opening weekend haul back in May, followed by mediocre response in overseas markets, it looks like Disney’s big-budget live-action remakeThe Little Mermaidhas been able to steady itself in choppy waters after all. After seven weekends in theaters, the film is on the verge of passing major box office milestones both domestically and worldwide. Directed by veteran Disney handRob Marshall,The Little Mermaidhas made $289 million stateside, and $253 million internationally, for a running global haul of $542 million.
A remake of the1992 animated classic, the movie will likely pass the $550 million mark at the worldwide box office by the end of its theatrical run, and even has an outside shot of crossing the $300 million mark domestically, especially if Disneyholds onto its digital releasefor just a couple more weeks. Produced on a reported budget of $250 million (plus millions more in marketing spends),The Little Mermaidprobably isn’t the global smash hit that the studio would’ve liked, but it didn’t sink like it could have either.
The movie debuted to an underwhelming $163 million global haul in May, butdisplayed strong holdsat the domestic box office over the next month, as itswam past important milestones. In overseas markets, however, the movie vastly underperformed. Its biggest foreign territory remains the U.K., where it made $31 million, followed by Mexico ($21 million) and Japan ($17 million). It bombed in both South Korea and China, where it made less than $5 million each. Now compare this to how spectacularly Disney’s last major remake —Aladdin— performed overseas in 2019.
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Directed byGuy Ritchie,Aladdinconcluded its theatrical run with more than $300 million domestically, and more than $1 billion worldwide. The movie made a staggering $112 million in Japan, $91 million in South Korea, and more than $50 million each in the U.K. and China.The Little Mermaidfaced several obstacles in international markets includingracist backlashtoHalle Bailey’s casting in the titular role. However,AladdinhadWill Smithfront and center of all its marketing material, whileThe Little Mermaiddidn’t have stars of Smith’s stature to help promote it.
Where Does the Movie Stand in the Pantheon of Disney’s Live-Action Remakes?
As far as live-action Disney remakes (and their sequels) go,The Little Mermaidis passing the $543 million lifetime global haul ofCinderellaas we speak, but the movie won’t be able to touch the worldwide totals ofMaleficent($758 million) andThe Jungle Book($966 million), not to mention the studio’s four billion-dollar-plus blockbusters —Aladdin,Alice in Wonderland,Beauty and the BeastandThe Lion King. It does, however, remain the fifth-biggest Hollywood release of 2023 at the worldwide box office, behindThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,Fast X, andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The movie also starsMelissa McCarthyas the villainous Ursula andJonah Hauer-Kingas Eric. You can watch our interview with Bailey and Hauer-King here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
