- The Little Mermaid is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated film of the same name, itself loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen.
- Plans for a remake of 1989’s The Little Mermaid were confirmed in May 2016.
- In December 2017, Disney announced Marshall was being courted to direct the film. Bailey, Hauer-King, McCarthy, Bardem, Diggs, Tremblay, Awkwafina, and the rest of the cast signed on between July to November 2019.
- Production was expected to begin in London between late March and early April 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Filming ultimately took place primarily at Pinewood Studios in England and on the island of Sardinia, Italy, from January to July 2021.
- Composer Alan Menken, who worked on the original film’s soundtrack, returned to compose the score and write new songs alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, who serves as a producer with Platt, John DeLuca and Marshall.
- The film is dedicated to the late Howard Ashman, who co-produced and co-wrote the songs from the original film.
- Visual effects were provided by Industrial Light & Magic, Wētā FX, Moving Picture Company and Framestore. DNEG also provided the stereo conversion.
- The Little Mermaid premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, and was released in the United States on May 26. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast and the musical sequences but criticized the visual effects.
- On May 19, 2023, Marshall revealed that his work on Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (which featured a mermaid character named Tamara) helped influence his work on The Little Mermaid, using similar live-action and CGI techniques to bring Ariel, her sisters and King Triton to life.
- Variety reported that the official teaser trailer of The Little Mermaid garnered more than 104 million global views during the first weekend following its release. It surpassed recent Disney live-action releases including Beauty and the Beast with 94 million, Aladdin with 74 million and Cruella with 68 million.
- Disney spent an estimated $140 million promoting The Little Mermaid. The film had the biggest global promotional campaign for a Disney branded live-action title at $80 million in value, with partner deals with the likes of McDonald’s, Booking.com, and Kellogg’s.
- The Little Mermaid held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, followed by the London premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 15. It was released theatrically on May 26, 2023, in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. A sing-along edition of the film was released in theaters on August 25, 2023.
- The film has grossed over $569 million worldwide against a total production budget of $250 million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2023.
- It also achieved wider commercial success when released onto Disney+ on September 6, 2023. Amongst Disney’s live-action remakes, the film is the second-most-expensive and seventh-highest-grossing readaptation to date.
- In August 2023, special effects artist Christine Overs filed a lawsuit against the film’s producers over an accident that occurred on the film set, in which Christine had a broken wrist. In the lawsuit, Christine seeks compensation of 150,000 euros (US$190,000). Sandcastle Pictures, the Disney-owned production company responsible for filming, has admitted responsibility for the accident but disputes the amount Overs is seeking.
- In June 2023, a CGI-animated series entitled Ariel inspired by the film was announced for Disney Junior. The series is set to be released in 2024.
- In April 2023, Marshall hinted at the potential for sequels if the film is successful, saying, “It’s a classic story that has a lot of characters and a lot of interesting stories. I do think it’s right for certain things. But you have to see how a movie plays, and how it does… I think there’s always opportunity to find stories within stories. That’s always a wonderful thing.”
- In May 2023, actors Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King spoke about the sequel of the animation The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, they liked it and said they would accept to return if it was also adapted into live action.
- Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released The Little Mermaid for digital download on July 25, 2023, and will then release it on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on September 19, 2023. The film was released on Disney+ on September 6, 2023.
- The film debuted atop the chart of the ten most popular films on Fandango’s transactional digital service Vudu during the week of July 30, 2023. It topped the VOD charts on iTunes and Google Play the same week. Disney announced that The Little Mermaid had 16 million views in the five days following its release on Disney+, becoming the most-watched film on the platform during the week of its premiere since Hocus Pocus 2 (2022); Disney defined views as total stream time divided by runtime.
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