After captivating audiences worldwide, The Little Mermaid has made a significant impact on Disney+ this past weekend. This live-action adaptation of Disney’s beloved Academy Award®-winning animated musical, featuring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, has achieved remarkable viewership numbers, becoming the most-watched Disney movie premiere on Disney+ since Hocus Pocus 2. In its initial five days of streaming, it garnered a staggering 16 million views.
Prior to its Disney+ success, The Little Mermaid enjoyed a successful theatrical run during the summer season. Directed by Rob Marshall, the film made a splash over Memorial Day weekend, raking in $118.6 million in North America, securing its place among the top five highest-grossing films of the summer with a domestic total of nearly $300 million.
The star-studded cast of The Little Mermaid, including Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, and Awkwafina, contributed to its global success, making it one of the top ten films of 2023 worldwide, grossing an impressive $570 million at the global box office.
Audiences and critics alike praised the film, earning it an “A” CinemaScore and an impressive 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The 2023 release of The Little Mermaid builds upon the enduring legacy of the original 1989 classic, continuing to bring this beloved story to life through a wide array of merchandise, attractions in parks and resorts, video games, books, and theater productions, delighting millions of fans worldwide. Furthermore, the live-action adaptation has breathed new life into Disney’s existing library, resulting in increased engagement with The Little Mermaid‘s animated films on Disney+.
It’s worth noting that for the purpose of measuring viewership, a “view” is defined as the total stream time divided by the runtime of the content.
