The full trailer for the forthcoming live-action rendition of the 1989 Disney classic The Little Mermaid was finally unveiled last week during the celebration of the most recent Academy Awards event, with Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy taking over the stage. And the clip has already shattered the film’s box office records.
With 108 million views in its first day, the trailer quickly became one of the most popular for the studio, surpassing even the 2019 peek for The Lion King, another recent House of Mouse live-actions (via THR).
The film’s amazing 130 million worldwide box office take in 1994 is difficult to top. When compared to trailers for other major films, The Little Mermaid’s performance was far superior.
Although the trailer is not a metric, it is evident that high hopes have been placed on the picture, despite or perhaps because of the many problems that have surrounded it. Disney’s live-action films have a solid track record of success, with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King all grossing well over $1 billion.
Everything We Know About The Little Mermaid Live-Action
Ariel, daughter of King Triton, is a brave and endearing little mermaid who serves as the protagonist of this tale. Her biggest desire is to escape the duties of her royal position and lead an ordinary life above water. A life in which she is anonymous to the general public.
After making a deal with the evil witch Ursula to trade three days of freedom from the underwater kingdom for the use of the princess’ voice, Ariel is able to meet Prince Eric, a charming human with whom she falls in love at first sight. Her father will soon discover that Ariel has fallen in love with a human, and he will be furious and try to dissuade her from pursuing Eric.
To protect her father’s realm from the wicked Ursula and her devoted henchmen, the eels Flotsam and Jetsam, Ariel enlists the help of her pals Sebastian, the grumpy crab, and Flounder, the cute tiny fish.
Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women), Daveed Diggs (Hamilton), Awkwafina (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Jacob Tremblay (Room), and Javier Bardem (King Triton) and Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) round out the voice cast, which also includes actress and singer Halle Bailey as Ariel.