In the North American box office, The Little Mermaid grossed $10.3 million in previews alone before the long Memorial Day weekend. The number comes from early, special Wednesday screenings that made $850,000 and traditional Thursday evening viewings. This has led to the film being ranked No. 7 among G and PG films for top preview grosses.
The film, which is a reimagining of the classic 1989 Disney animated film of the same name, follows the same general plot as its predecessor. In desperation to achieve her dream of becoming a human and with newfound motivation to meet Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King), the little mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) that puts her fate and her father’s kingdom in danger.
According to Variety, the film is expected to accumulate $118 million over the four-day holiday. It is anticipated that $96 million will come from the initial three days, which would make the film the fifth most profitable film over Memorial Day weekend history. This exceeds the ranking of Disney’s live-action adaptation of Aladdin that grossed a $116.8 million debut over the weekend and only $7 million in previews.
Many of those helping to contribute to these numbers are women: young girls, mothers, those that grew up with the original film, etc. It’s reported that “68% of the audience was female, while 25% of ticket buyers ranged in age between 25 to 34. Kids accounted for 22% of the opening weekend crowds.”
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