“The Little Mermaid” Earns An Impressive $38 Million In Opening Day

With an opening day total of $38 million, Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” is making quite a splash at the domestic box office this weekend.

Over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, the mermaid fantasy, which opens in 4,320 theaters, is expected to earn between $120 million and $130 million.

“The Little Mermaid” starring Halle Bailey as the mermaid princess Ariel, grossed $10.3 million in previews on Thursday, the seventh-highest amount ever for a G or PG film.

The film is on track to gross well over $100 million over the holiday weekend. With a $250 million production budget, “The Little Mermaid” needs box office success to make a decent profit.

Rob Marshall directs “The Little Mermaid,” which also stars Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder the fish, and Awkwafina as Scuttle the seabird.

The classic Disney remake has received mixed reviews from critics, with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 67%, but it does have a 95% audience score, which can be found here.