The Little Mermaid is one of the most beloved titles from the Disney Renaissance era. As such, it’s perhaps no surprise that this classic title has gained quite the hype. And, with the live action remake of this classic title coming out today, expectations are high for an incredibly successful launch.
A New Take on a Classic Disney Tale
It’s not a new tale that’s new, per se; indeed, the story of the Little Mermaid as we know it has been loved for decades. And, of course, the original Disney version itself was based on the (albeit darker) version by Hans Christian Anderson.
Building on the success of the original and following Disney’s recent trend toward live-action remakes, the new version is expected to perform incredibly well across its opening weekend.
Cast and Story Changes
With a film that originally came out around four decades ago, it’s perhaps unsurprising that several cast changes were inevitable – but certain aspects of the movie have been changed to account for a modern approach.
As part of the reimagining, the tale now focuses much more heavily on empowering viewers but while retaining much of the original story overall.
And, of course, the songs are still there, boasting all of the original power of the original versions; Alan Menken returns to the film to help add a little more iconic Disney magic to the film as well.
Predicted Success at the Box Office
The live action version of the Little Mermaid has no doubt garnered a huge hype over the past few months and, as a result, box office results are generally anticipated to be incredibly successful. The film is expected to bring in around one hundred and twenty million in its opening weekend in the US alone, making it set to be a hugely popular movie overall.
However, it’s worth considering that the full numbers will still be set to change, and estimates can vary. What’s more, the estimate is undoubtedly setting the bar high. If the film does manage to pull it off, it would end up sitting firmly alongside Aladdin, which generated one hundred and sixteen million in its opening weekend; however, beating the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast may be even more of a feat, which took an impressive one hundred and eighty million overall.
One of the big decisions made by the marketing teams in relation to the movie is the release date. Indeed, the Memorial weekend has historically been a great release window for Disney movies; The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin all generated huge box office sales during this time, and so it’s likely hoped that The Little Mermaid will receive the same attention and excitement.
Overall, there are some big hopes riding on the Little Mermaid. And, with such an exorbitant budget behind the film, there’s going to need to be good ticket sales just to make costs back; in fact, in order to break even alone, the film will need to bring in more than the original.
That’s no small order, although the impressive CGI may help the movie’s case in this regard. After all, there’s just something otherworldly about seeing a true-to-life mermaid on our screens.
The live-action Little Mermaid is predicted to enjoy box office success, yet fans might be curious why the polyps were removed from Ursula’s lair in this adaptation, as we explore in the following article.
