Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action ‘The Little Mermaid’
Courtesy of Disney
Universal Images’ x fast picked up another easy win at the Chinese box office over the weekend, earning $17.6 million for a cumulative total of $109.9 million.
by Disney The little Mermaid, however, is clearly sinking rather than swimming in the Chinese market. The Rob Marshall-directed film, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, opened to just $2.5 million – all the way down for Disney’s live-action remakes in China.
The little Mermaid was surpassed by a pair of leftovers and a new anime version. Local road comedy good speed, already a month in theaters, added $6.8 million to a total that now stands at $145.4 million. Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 took $4.9 million for a cumulative $79.6 million. Japanese anime feature Sword art online the movie opened at $3.8 million, with local ticketing app Maoyan predicting it will top China with around $5 million.
A little over a week ago, x fast gave Hollywood its best China opening of 2023 – $51.1 million. The film slipped 66% in its second frame, and Maoyan now predicts it will close at just under $125 million. It’s a boffo showing for the new post-pandemic normal, but far less than recent installments in the Fast and Furious franchise brought back from China. F9: the fast saga earned $216.9 million in 2021, which was significantly down from The fate of the furious‘ $392.8 million in 2017 and Furious 7$390.9 million in 2015.
The little MermaidChina’s revenues are low by any measure. Maoyan predicts that the film will only cost $4 million. Most Disney live-action remakes have done much better. Cruel came in at the bottom with $24 million in 2021, while others like The Lion King ($120 million, 2019) and THE The jungle Book ($150 million, 2016) did much better. Domestically, Mermaid is performing mightily – studio estimates are currently calling for a four-day Memorial Day debut of $118 million, the fifth-biggest opening ever.
Products from American studios will continue to flow into China over the coming weeks. sony Spider-Man: Through the Spider-Verse launches Friday, followed by Paramount Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a week later. Japanese anime will also continue to be a staple of the Chinese multiplex, with both Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Sky Utopia and Studio Ghibli’s 1986 animated classic Laputa: Castle in the Sky will be released on Thursday.