“The Little Mermaid” Swims to No. 1 in Opening Weekend – Miscellaneous

© The Walt Disney Company/Courtesy Everett Collection

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” was a huge hit at the domestic box office this weekend, with an opening day total of $38 million.

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

The musical release, which stars Halle Bailey as mermaid princess Ariel, grossed $10.3 million in Thursday previews, the seventh highest for a film with a G or PG rating. This puts the film on track to gross over $100 million over the weekend. With a production budget of $250 million, The Little Mermaid has to swallow box office success in order to make a reasonable return.

“Fast X,” the tenth installment in the “Fast and Furious” series, debuted this past weekend to US$67 million. This weekend, it’s estimated to bring in around $28 million over the four-day weekend, which is clearly second only to “The Little Mermaid.”

Fast X is expected to pass the $500 million mark at the global box office this weekend, making it the third highest grossing worldwide of the year.

The Little Mermaid directed by Rob Marshall and starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, David Diggs as Sebastian the Crab, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder the Fish and Awkwafina as Scuttle the Seabird . It has received mixed reviews, and currently holds a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. diverseHowever, Peter Debruge raved in his review that “Halle Bailey is the only reason any audience needs to justify Disney’s return to this classic.”