The film has reportedly made only $ 3.6 million in China since its release on May 26. The lackluster response at the box office is being attributed to racist critiques in some quarters which have raised questions about the casting of black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role of Ariel.
The film, starring Halle Bailey as the mermaid Ariel, arrives as Hollywood tries to edge back into a market increasingly dominated by domestic productions, and as Chinese authorities have shown reluctance to approve western films for release. Some have blamed racism for the flop.
“The Little Mermaid” has bombed with moviegoers in China and South Korea amid racist critiques in some quarters over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as main character Ariel.
In the wake of the review bombing, IMDb said it had made changes to its rating system but the movie was already in choppy waters by then. A lot of the criticism focused on its computer-generated graphics which made the once-cute hand-drawn characters look like eerie aliens.
Why Did The Little Mermaid Flop In China & S. Korea?
How is Little Mermaid doing in China?
Disney's latest live-action film The Little Mermaid may have got a roaring response at the US box office, but it has failed to impress moviegoers in China and South Korea. The film has reportedly made only $ 3.6 million in China since its release on May 26.
How much money did The Little Mermaid 2023 remake make or lose? The reported box office result of The Little Mermaid 2023 remake is about $560 million. On paper, these numbers look good. The film grossed over $298 million domestically and more than $263 million internationally.
According to Showbiz Galore, she was reportedly paid $1.5 million to don the tail and seashells, though some news outlets reported slightly more modest earnings of $500,000. Despite the online backlash about casting a Black Ariel, this project made Halle Bailey a household name, especially among young Disney fans.
Chinese renyu (人魚) stands for "merfolk", but in ancient geographical or natural historical tracts, this referred to "human-fish" or "man-fish" purported to inhabit rivers or lakes in certain parts of China. Japanese ningyo (人魚) is also "merfolk", and also applied to various human-like fish recorded in writings from ...
The Little Mermaid—which also stars Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, and Awkwafina—is also among 2023's top ten films worldwide to date, earning $570 million at the global box office. The film was praised by audiences who gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
How much did it cost to make The Little Mermaid 2023?
The film has grossed over $569 million worldwide against a total production budget of $297 million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2023 and the seventh-highest-grossing remake by Disney.
Little by little, however, the $200 million film became a hit, collecting nearly $500 million worldwide. For the year to date, “Elemental” ranks No. 9 on the list of top-grossing films, ahead of Marvel's latest “Ant-Man” sequel.
It's believed that Bailey made about $1.5 million for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, but that number could increase depending on how well the film performs opening weekend and beyond.
How much did Melissa McCarthy get paid for Little Mermaid?
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.
Berry appeared in the nu metal band Limp Bizkit's music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named No. 1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll. Berry starred as the title role in the film Catwoman, for which she received US$12.5 million.
He says they were looking for the best actor for the role of any ethnicity who could not only sing but convey traits such as strength, passion, beauty, joy and intelligence, which they found in Bailey.
The film grossed $298 million domestically and $569 million worldwide. This does push the movie beyond the estimated break-even point, but just barley. Of course, big studios have a way of hiding their numbers, so it isn't certain if the $560 million break-even point was accurate to begin with.
Disney owns the MCU, Star Wars, Avatar, and a massive backlog of iconic classics. Despite this, Disney has struggled to keep its momentum throughout the summer of 2023, with several big box office failures causing the company to lose an estimated $900 million across several underperforming movies.
According to box office analyst Valliant Renegade, Walt Disney Co. has lost nearly $900 million following its last eight studio releases, including box office flops like LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD.
With this in mind Disney own the rights to their fairy tale derivative of the story. Disney do not however own the rights to the original Andersen story. Others are still free to use that work and create their own material/adaptations based on that.
