Disney's 'Little Mermaid' Makes A Big Splash At Box Office, But Falls Short Of 'Lion King'

The live-action remake of 'The Little Mermaid' earned $117.5 million in North America over Memorial Day weekend, becoming the fifth-highest Memorial Day weekend opening.
The film struggled internationally, earning $68.3 million from over 50 markets, potentially making it hard to turn a profit on the $250 million budget.
Though 'The Little Mermaid' had one of the biggest releases of the year domestically, its debut fell short of other recent Disney live-action remakes like 'The Lion King' and 'Beauty and the Beast'.
The box office is still recovering from the pandemic, so 'The Little Mermaid's performance was still notable, though it did not top the year's biggest releases like 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' and 'Fast X'.
McCarthy and Bailey's performances were praised, though the bloated budget and weak international showing pose challenges.