Huge Box Office Flop Is Breaking Records On Disney+
The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is making waves on Disney+ since its streaming release on September 6, according to The Hollywood Reporter. According to the platform, The Little Mermaid has seen 16 million views, which illustrates that viewing audiences enjoy the film, even though the box office numbers leave a lot to be desired.
When you break down the finances, the 2023 film’s theatrical run wasn’t necessarily as big of a flop as one would think.
According to Disney, The Little Mermaid has attracted 16 million views since its streaming debut on Disney+.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid had a reported production budget of $265 million, and earned a total of $570 million at the global box office. On paper this seems like an amazing number, but these days a film isn’t commercially successful unless it earns back roughly 2.5x its production budget.
Once post-production costs and marketing spend is considered, it’s safe to say that The Little Mermaid fell short of expectations with ticket sales, because it would have needed somewhere in the ballpark of $660 million to be profitable.
Even though it’s clear that The Little Mermaid saw a hefty payday, it’s still up for debate whether it will truly be considered a commercial flop, break even, or generate a profit. Financially speaking, the Disney movie under performed, but the streaming numbers on Disney+ indicate that it didn’t flop because of poor audience reception, but rather budgetary issues.
One such budgetary issue has largely been attributed to the high production costs, as The Little Mermaid was filmed during COVID-19 pandemic, which made producing the film more costly than if principal photography happened at any other time.
This is not to say that The Little Mermaid wasn’t met with criticism upon its release. While there was an initial controversy over casting Halle Bailey for the lead role, subsequent reviews since its theatrical release have praised her performance.
Though fans of the original Disney animated film were skeptical at first, the The Little Mermaid has garnered a 94 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes against a critical score of 67 percent.
The prevailing sentiment on Rotten Tomatoes is that it’s not better than the original animated movie, but doesn’t hurt its legacy either. The Little Mermaid is simply a modern, live-action retelling of the same story.
At the time of this writing, it’s difficult to see if we have a flop or a success on our hands. On one hand, the viewership for The Little Mermaid is definitely there. But until Disney releases its next set of financial statements, we’re not so sure if The Little Mermaid is in the red or in the black.
At the end of the day viewership is the most important thing to consider.
Overall, Disney’s The Little Mermaid was more well-received by audiences than you may think, and is considered by many to be a suitable live-action update to the animated classic. The prevailing sentiment on Rotten Tomatoes is that it’s not better than the original animated movie, but doesn’t hurt its legacy either. The Little Mermaid is simply a modern, live-action retelling of the same story.
At the end of the day viewership is the most important thing to consider. It’s no mystery that The Little Mermaid under performed theatrically, but at this point in time it’s evident that Disney won over audiences with what many critics consider to be one of their more satisfying live-action remakes to date.
