Little Mermaid Opens Big Domestically, Sinks Worldwide

Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid got off to a nice start, at least stateside. Per Deadline, domestically, the family adventure snagged $117.5 million over the 4-day weekend ($95.4 million 3-day), on par with Disney’s Aladdin remake. Audiences flocked to see this new iteration of Ariel on Friday, shelling out $38 million in ticket sales. Attendance dipped throughout the weekend, resulting in a $27.4 million Sunday and a $22.1 million Monday. Though lower than expected, this is still a strong opening for the big-budget pic.

Overseas, however, The Little Mermaid snagged a $68.3 million four-day and all but cratered in China with $2.5 million. By comparison, Aladdin opened with $18.6 million in China and legged out to $53 million en route to a $698 million international total and $1.054 billion worldwide cume. With plenty of competition on the horizon in the form of Spider-Man, Transformers, and The Flash, it might be hard for The Little Mermaid to sustain any momentum.

Still, with a 95% audience score, word of mouth will likely keep this one afloat in the States for now.

Elsewhere, Fast X dipped -66% in its second frame, collecting $23 million (3-day) and $28.6 million (4-day) to raise its domestic total to $113.6 million. Overseas, Vin Diesel’s action extravaganza hauled in $87.3 million (-58%) and has now earned $507.26 million worldwide. Can this one muscle its way past F9’s $726 million worldwide take?

No. 3 and 4 box office slots were occupied by James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 ($26.6 million 4-day, $306 million total) and The Super Mario Bros Movie ($8.3 million 4-day, $560.6 million total), which continue to do well. Worldwide, Marvel’s latest has collected $723 million, placing it just under Thor: Love and Thunder ($760 million) and the original Guardians of the Galaxy ($770 million) on the MCU box office list. Mario has made $1.278 billion worldwide and is now the 20th highest-grossing movie of all time, right behind Frozen ($1.284 billion) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($1.310 billion). The animated epic still has a ways to go if it hopes to leap over Frozen II ($1.453 billion) to take the mantle of highest animated film ever.

DOMESTIC TOP 10

Per Deadline

1) Little Mermaid (Dis) 4,320 theaters, Fri $38M, Sat $30M Sun 3-day $104M, 4-day $121M-$123M/Wk 1

2) Fast X (Uni) 4,088 (+42) theaters, Fri $6.3M (-78%), Sat $8.5M Sun $8.1M Mon $5.67M 3-day $23M (-66%), 4-day $28.6M, Total $113.6M/Wk 2

3) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (Dis) 3,940 (-510) theaters, Fri $5.4M (-36%) 3-day $20.6M (-36%) 4-day $26.6M, Total $306M/Wk 4

4) The Super Mario Bros Movie (Uni) 3,148 (-392) theaters, Fri $1.69M (-29%) Sat $2.4M Sun $2.1M Mon $2.06M 3-day $6.27M (-35%), 4-day $8.3M, Total $560.6M/Wk 8

5) The Machine (Leg/Sony) 2,409 theaters, Fri $2.2M Sat $1.4M Sun $1.2M Mon $915K 3-day $4.9M, 4-day $5.8M/Wk 1

6) About My Father (LG) 2,464 theaters, Fri $1.46M Sat $1.45M Sun $1.34M Mon $1M 3-day $4.25M 4-day $5.25M/Wk 1

7) Kandahar (OR/Briar) 2,105 theaters, Fri $920K Sat $745K Sun $745K Mon $590K 3-day $2.4M 4-day $3M /Wk 1

8) You Hurt My Feelings (A24) 912 theaters Fri $474K Sat $481K Sun $433K Mon $377K 3-day $1.389M 4-day $1.76M/Wk 1

9) Evil Dead Rise (NL) 921 (-1,252 theaters) Fri $300K (-57%) Sat $385K Sun $367K 3-day $1.05M (-57%) 4-day $1.3M Total $66.4M/Wk 6

10) Book Club: Next Chapter (Foc) 1,339 (-2,174) theaters, Fri $250K (-73%), Sat $320K Sun $330K Mon $270K 3-day $900K (-70%) 4-day $1.17M, Total $16.3M/Wk 3

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