Disney has announced that The Little Mermaid has become quite the success for the studio, having broken records on Disney+ as one of its most-viewed Disney movie premieres ever, garnering 16 million views in its first five days of streaming. The movie, which was released on Disney+ on September 6, 2023, is a live-action adaption of the original 1989 animated classic that stars Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, and Halle Bailey, who plays mermaid princess Ariel. The Little Mermaid has made $569,539,932 at the global box office since its release in May 2023. It carries a 67% Tomatometer score, but 97% Audience score, on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie—which was directed by Rob Marshall and opened over Memorial Day weekend to $118.6 million in North America—was one of the top five highest-grossing films of the summer domestically with nearly $300 million.
2023’s The Little Mermaid builds on the incredible legacy of the original 1989 classic, continuing to bring the story to life through a treasure trove of merchandising, parks and resorts attractions, video games, books, and theater productions for millions of fans around the world. The release of the live action The Little Mermaid has also given a boost to Disney’s existing library resulting in tremendous engagement for The Little Mermaid animated films on Disney+.