THE LITTLE MERMAID WEEKEND THREAD

[Eric the Ape]

PART

OF

YOUR

WORLD

 

1989 was a year of crazy changes. In 1989, Batman went from cheesy 60s camp into a dark, gothic universe that is still popular today. In 1989, we saw the fall of Communism, as revolutions in the Eastern bloc caused the end of the Soviet Union, while Brazil had their first presidential election, ending the nation’s military rule. And in 1989, Disney came back swinging in a big way with The Little Mermaid, the film that changed the company forever.

 

After decades of box office and critical failures, The Little Mermaid was both a nostalgic throwback to the classic Disney films of old like Snow White and Cinderella, while also serving as a modern breath of fresh air to the classic Disney formula. A proactive female protagonist, top of the line animation, incredible music from Broadway’s brightest. It was the ultimate Disney movie and it worked like gangbusters.

 

Immediately Disney’s biggest animated movie ever made, its box office success put Disney out of their slump and kickstarted the Disney Renaissance, home to some of the greatest, most beloved Disney films ever made. Without The Little Mermaid, there’s no Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Frozen, Zootopia, Moana, Encanto, and so on. And to this day, even after three decades, The Little Mermaid is still a cash cow and beloved by audiences young and old alike. This of course means that this too has gotten the live-action remake treatment.

 

This was always going to be a big deal for obvious reasons, but on July 3, 2019, one casting choice sealed this movie’s fate as an event. Rising star and Beyonce’s very own protege, Halle Bailey, would end up playing the famed Disney Princess. This casting decision is an exciting one, as one of the best Disney Princesses ever is being portrayed by somebody with an angelic voice and a passion for the original movie. And for tons of young Black viewers, they get to see themselves represented as the beautiful princess for the first time since Princess and the Frog nearly 15 years ago. It's a landmark representation that is exciting for young and old and has definitely led to very measured and mature responses from many.

 

Since that initial teaser trailer, the buzz and hype for this movie has been red hot and it's set to have one of the biggest Memorial Day openings of all time. It will certainly be a productive weekend, and it's a ride that should be fun...at points.l

 

But we have some big ground rules to cover. And that includes some stuff that need to be discussed for...reasons.

 

1. ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS

And yes, this does apply to a remake of a movie everybody here has seen. And of course, recently released movies and shows on streaming qualify under this. No Fast X spoilers, no Guardians 3 spoilers, no Muppets Mayhem spoilers, etc.

 

2. THE REPORT AND IGNORE BUTTONS ARE YOUR FRIEND

 

3. DON'T BE A DICK

 

And yes, in terms of the “Halle as Ariel” elephant in the room, let’s just lay some stuff out because I know somebody’s going to be that guy. Yes, you can criticize this movie. Yes, you can criticize Halle’s performance. No movie or person is above criticism. You can even argue that Halle’s casting “hurt” the movie’s box office for whatever reason. But no personal attacks against her, no racist language, no complaining about racebending or “blackwashing”, no whining about “woke culture”, none of that. You’re adults, so act like one. Failure to do so will lead to warning points and threadbans in your future. And if you can’t handle being a racist asshole because of a casting choice in a dumb kids movie, then leave. We don’t need your garbage here.

 

WE WILL OPEN THE THREAD WHEN THE US PREVIEWS ARRIVE TOMORROW MORNING. YOU KNOW WHY.

 

[Eric the Ape]

 

[Eric the Ape]

 

[JustLurking]

Seems a bit low, I thought it would land ard 11

[ando]

11 minutes ago, JustLurking said:

Seems a bit low, I thought it would land ard 11

Still think it might tbh

[stripe]

1 hour ago, JustLurking said:

Seems a bit low, I thought it would land ard 11

 

It looks like they are playing it safe. Still, 10M+ would be an awesome start. Aladdin had 7M previews and grossed 116.8M over the 4day opening
 

[stripe]

My 3Day/4Day guesses before numbers arrive
TLM - 111M / 136M

FX - 27M / 34M

GOTGV3 - 21M / 27M

SMB - 5.5M / 7M

KANDAHAR - 5M / 6M

AMF - 4.5M / 5.5M

MACHINE - 3.5M / 4M

BC2 - 1.6M - 2.2M

EDR - 1.1M / 1.6M

AYTG? - 0.8M / 1.2M

 

TOP 10 3day/4day

181M / 224.5M

 

 

[grey ghost]

Deadline rarely overpredicts the preview numbers so 10m is the bare minimum.

[grey ghost]

Keaton as Batman, The Little Mermaid and an Indy movie. Is it 1989?

 

[Brainbug]

3 minutes ago, grey ghost said:

Keaton as Batman, The Little Mermaid and an Indy movie. Is it 1989?

 

 

Fun Fact: We are closer to 2050 than 1989 now.

[stripe]

3 minutes ago, Brainbug said:

 

Fun Fact: We are closer to 2050 than 1989 now.

 

[Krissykins]

RT verified audience score was 85% last night and now 95%.

 

Still only 500 ratings, but that’s a great start. 

[Valonqar]

My little sister absolutely loved it and I was very entertianed. Photoreal animals and annoying sisters ( bad actresses have to say) aside, this was fun and I liked it. Halle gives a star making performance, it's a cliche to say but it's true. Beauty, radiance, charm, charisma, likable presence, voice, chemistry with everyone and everything (it's one thing to have chemistry with cute humaniod animated fish or Rocket Racoon, it's another to have chemsitry with...those things), really a whole package. Mind you, it's not a hard role and it's like playing herself so I can't make predictions about her future or her range but she captured the spirit of the character to a T and the voice is incredible. Oh and sorry to be that guy but big part of her character;s appeal is her smiling a lot. It's become a strong woman cliche to be always angry and smug and beat up anyone suggesting to smile but smile does go a long way. Ariel's smile will give this legs. It's radiant, it's like sunshine. You want to be around this character over and over.

 

Jonah looked completely underwhelming in previews - I compared him to an ox - but he's lively and charming in the movie and a good singer too. The couple sizzled. 

 

Melissa nailed Ursula with her comic timing and unhinged performance. I don't know why anyone doubted her. She was perfect. 

 

All in all, families will eat this up. I haven't seen all of these live action remakes so I can't rank all of them but think this one is on par with Alladdin which I rank second to Cinderella at #1. 

 

The show was sold out and crowd reaction was great. They laughed at right spots. Speaking of, voice-work was great, pity that Disney went with photoreal shit. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Valonqar

[cookie]

39 minutes ago, Brainbug said:

 

Fun Fact: We are closer to 2050 than 1989 now.

[jedijake]

How did tracking get this so wrong? For a while, $12-$13 million looked solid.

[PrinceRico]

9 minutes ago, jedijake said:

How did tracking get this so wrong? For a while, $12-$13 million looked solid.

The last two days they have been saying 10 between 12 million.

[jedijake]

2 minutes ago, PrinceRico said:

The last two days they have been saying 10 between 12 million.

Yeah looking back I suppose you are right. I guess the question is why did comps keep going down and will the audience reaction give it at least a 10X IM.

[Jonwo]

I think it's a matter of when rather than if to a live action Frozen but I expect that'll be after Frozen III. 

 

You have to wonder if Universal and DreamWorks have their finger on the trigger to greenlight a live action Shrek film, with a live action How To Train Your Dragon coming, it seems like a no brainer to do Shrek and release in time for the 25th anniversary.

 

 

[SchumacherFTW]

12 minutes ago, jedijake said:

Yeah looking back I suppose you are right. I guess the question is why did comps keep going down and will the audience reaction give it at least a 10X IM.

They were open all the way through that they didn't have a particularly good comp for this one

[Alexander]

Surprised Disney didn't announce live action Tangled with Anya Taylor-Joy yet.