The Little Mermaid: A Huge Success

A lot of Hollywood films are struggling internationally. China now makes a lot of its own blockbusters and seems uninterested in Disney remakes. This film has done well, all things considered. The racist trolls online can't shut up about the lead being black despite it being based on a cartoon that Disney loosely based on a fairy tale about a fictional creature. Disney didn't faithfully adapt the original and the character of Ariel is Disney's creation and they can do what they please with her.

Racism is wrong, you stupid Chinks!

Nobody wants to believe that Latinos, Indians and East Asians are more racist to than white people but they are. White people are shamed for being racist against others. While other cultures shamelessly are discriminatory towards people with darker skin.

oh please mary, variety etc say its not even expected to break even.

OP, no matter how you slice it, the movie is not a success. Not a downright flop, either. But it is definitely underperforming and will be a loss for Disney. when all is said and done.

This is its 3rd weekend and it will only have passed $400 million worldwide. However, domestically it's only doing around $186 million. Remember, it had a $250 million budget.

On the other hand, SUPER MARIO BROS. movie crossed $400 million on its third weekend *domestically.* Worldwide it was at $871 million. And it only had a budget of $100 million by comparison.

In the end, SMB grossed $1.3 billion. It's unlikely that TLM will reach $1 billion. It may barely cross $500 million in total.

We've had two different threads created by adult homosexual men climaxing at how a kiddie movie was eating its own cock at the box office, and now you're telling me it's not a flop at all? That's hilarious. The rabid anti-woke crowd here on DL again delivers on the entertainment front.

To be honest, who cares? The real issue here is that Disney's management and creative teams are so devoid of talent of any sort, that all they can produce are remakes of films from over 20 years ago, and are trying to compensate for their incompetence by inserting cultural and racial elements into what ultimately, are subpar products.

Moreover, people are becoming increasingly tired of CGI-driven films that are devoid of any artistic merit and don't even have coherent storylines. However, admitting that they are not doing things well is too much for these narcissists, so they keep accusing audiences of being racist, ignorant, foolish and lacking in sophistication which, clearly, isn't working.

In short, we need to push inept social climbers and nepotism babies out of Hollywood and the arts.

Exactly r7

when the trade mags besides variety note how it going to struggle to break even, you know theyr in the shitter. the public is so sick of the race swapping and not following original sources, . unreal.... dizney however makes bank when they throw the flops on streaming and can charge a ton to have it shown, double dipping.

OP = DL’s black racist queen, likely the JanBot. F&F him please

That blacker the mermaid the sweeter the juice!

"We've had two different threads created by adult homosexual men climaxing at how a kiddie movie was eating its own cock at the box office"

To be fair, one of those threads was about "The Little Spermaid".

Is that guy in the pic supposed to be Eric? Is she a midget or is just really tall?

What do Asians have to do with this? Is OP blaming them for something?

I think the bigger problem is that most of Disney's live action remakes are meh and rarely, if ever, add anything to the original.

I mean seriously. With all the CGI in the movie, calling them "live action" is a bit absurd.

i think the actress playing the mermaid was not very talented..........sorry..

The Little Mermaid is into BWC.

What kills me is the fact that the Chinese don’t want to see black people in the movies but they want to see whites. Awful.

Does the remake mention the fact that Eric is an adult who falls in love with a literal child?

R19 Also the fact that Ariel gives up her life with her family and friends to be with a complete stranger just because he was cute. Ariel was progressive for a Disney heroine because she was proactive, rebellious and not passive but also regressive because still her entire personality got refocused to being all about marrying Eric. She's a static character. Nostalgia Chick goes a good review about the film where she mentioned it was King Triton who had the most character development. Going from overprotective and bigoted to accepting of his daughter's independence and tolerating towards humans. Though even then, Triton was justified in his fear of humanity given they did hunt and eat fish and destroyed the aquatic environment.

The original fairy tale on the other hand was about a mermaid who wanted a soul to go to heaven. Since mermaids lived 300 years but had no soul and just dissolved into seafoam. The sea witch warned her about the consequences. Also the mermaid had a grandmother who was her mentor and her sisters played a bigger role in the narrative. Oddly the original fairy tale is more feminist than the Disney version of the 80s

Even if it starred Legos, it's still bilge to shovel down kids' throats.

[quote]What do Asians have to do with this? Is OP blaming them for something?

MAGATs blame them for everything and, on DL, it's okay to be racist against Asians. As a matter fact, it's the source of many a good laugh for DLers.

So Hollywood now spends so much on budgets they must rely on China to recoup its finances? Got it.

The black community should boycott Chinese hood takeout and hair stores. Since the Chinese is unable to see their beauty and intelligence they should boycott the businesses in black neighborhoods.

R23 It's ridiculous and shows how creatively bankrupt and greedy Hollywood has gotten. Great filmmakers like Scorsese can't even get his projects greenlit because he writes films for an American audience and incorporates social commentary. It's all about making dumbed down, high budget CGI-filled spectacles with pretty mostly white actors rather than push the boundaries of storytelling and speak truth to film. Yes I'm aware Hollywood has always been about money but it didn't infringe on creative powerhouses for getting movies made. Now everything is the same remake, reboot and nostalgia cash-in for infantilized adults and Eastern audiences. Chinese, Indian and Arab moviegoers are more racist and conservative too. So we aren't seeing POC or gay characters in leads now because of this pandering. TV and streaming - Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, FX, HBO, Apple and Max took all the creative minds from Hollywood and they're working for them.

R24 And Kpop. So many Korean idols are blatantly racist despite using black American songwriters and producers for their watered rap and R&B they call "Kpop." And many Kpop fans are young black girls.

The Little Mernonbinary

Prove what you wrote, R26. Otherwise, you're a liar.

R26 I’ve never heard of the artists themselves being racist.

How many young Korean “artists” have had facial cosmetic surgery so as to give themselves a more European aspect? Does electing to have such surgeries imply racist beliefs?

How can a culture that values education to such a high degree also be so homophobic and intolerant. When will they change?

R30, No, just as black women who straighten their hair doesn't imply racism. I hope that's not the rationale for the crap that's being spewed on this thread. And, R31, how dare Americans say anything about another country condoning homophobia?

Maybe it's not racist, it's just that they have better taste. But, the Americans need someone to blame. How many Americans won't see the show because Ariel is black?

R33 very few. The film has made over 200 mil here.

R32 yea but we don’t force people to partake in conversion therapy and in some states criminalize them.

Regarding the article at R33, I didn't find this movie at all "dour," "overlong," "dimly-lit," or "sexist."

What's the deal with the wide apart eyes on her and that chick from the Queen's Gambit? They look freaky as shit like half mantis.

White Americans and Brits saw this movie in mass numbers. Because white Westerners enjoy black talent, Whitney Houston, Beyonce and Angela Bassett were big stars. I think the Japanese will show up because the Japanese are the most progressive East Asians and actually very fond of black people and culture.

What really pissed me off about the debate is that the racists won and we didn’t even realize. When the film was first cast the argument was very Western centered and Maga and conservative white crowd said it would ruin their childhood and is too woke. The film has been massively successful in Western civilization.

China has stolen our jobs, damaged our economy for 40yrs, created Covid, and yet popular Mary’s on DL celebrated the films performance in CHina and received over 30 likes. Are they not intelligent enough to understand how the two things are related. China’s culture is oppressive and regressive. Why would any self respecting gay man celebrate that.

From Collider. com

Is The Little Mermaid a hit, or not? The answer changes with each new layer of context that you bring to the table. On the face of it, the fact that Disney’s live-action remake of the classic 1989 animated film has now passed the $400 million mark globally is worth celebrating. But when you consider that more than half of that has come from domestic theaters, the achievement loses some of its value. And then, when you take into account that the movie cost a reported $250 million to produce (minus marketing), that $400 million number doesn’t look so special after all.

The rule of thumb is that a movie of this size needs to gross twice its budget in theaters to break even, which means that The Little Mermaid, after two full weeks of release, is still in the red. And it’s currently pacing to conclude its global run with around $500 million, which would barely put it in the clear. The Little Mermaid added an estimated $22 million from domestic theaters this weekend, taking its running total to $228 million. The movie has made around $185 million from overseas territories so far, for a running worldwide haul of $413 million, according to Variety.

So, it's got to make 500 million to break even. Will streaming fees put it over the top?

[quote]Is The Little Mermaid a hit, or not?

R40 So, the answer is no.

It states that the film is still in the red after three weeks of release and will barely cross $500 million worldwide at the end of its run, but because of its massive $250 million budget, it will barely recoup, much less make a profit.

I don't know how this can be spun to be a success story.

[quote]What really pissed me off about the debate is that the racists won and we didn’t even realize. When the film was first cast the argument was very Western centered and Maga and conservative white crowd said it would ruin their childhood and is too woke. The film has been massively successful in Western civilization.

You seem to be contradicting yourself, and your logic is incredibly twisted, to say the least. Do you want to try to clarify what you're trying to say, or is it a mistake to ask you to do so?

Racism and bigotry will always prevail because people will never see the larger picture. Or is it subversively on message for this film to have flopped in China as part of larger social commentary and that legacy will allow it to stand the test of time.

All in all people who know better should be better.

[quote][R19] Also the fact that Ariel gives up her life with her family and friends to be with a complete stranger just because he was cute. Ariel was progressive for a Disney heroine because she was proactive, rebellious and not passive but also regressive because still her entire personality got refocused to being all about marrying Eric.

That's not how the story went.

Ariel had a fascination with humans long before she met Eric.

Then she fell for him after saving him, but only became human to spite her father after he destroyed her grotto of human curios.

As a human, she got to spend a few days with Eric and he fell in love with her, too, despite Ursula's intrusion.

After they defeated Ursula, she married Eric and remained with him on land, but he was no longer a stranger by that point.

Besides, it reflects reality. Many women move to where their new husband's jobs take them than vice-versa, even if it means going out of the country.

Heck, women are more prone to leave their homeland for a man. This is why men are often considered more patriotic, because a woman would just as easily give up her citizenship for love with a foreigner.

Just to play devils advocate. Maybe the Chinese understands the entire premise is dumb as fuck.

[quote]So Hollywood now spends so much on budgets they must rely on China to recoup its finances? Got it.

I listen to a film industry podcast called The Town, and during a forecast of the biggest films of the summer, the host and his guest repeatedly factored in the Chinese box office when making their predictions. It appears with traditional blockbuster type films, the studios are 100% counting on how they’ll make out in China.

They should have never signed Halle Bailey's $200M paycheck. But she convinced them she could pull them over that $500M domestic box office in it's opening weekend, and they believed her.

F&F racist OP. Why is this garbage so common here now?

R47 The Queen was responsible for her casting. I still say post Covid is playing a role in its subpar global performance.

R49 Yes, I heard the Queen looked at her picture and thought she was Meghan Markle.

R50 Not that Queen’s silly, America’s Queen.

Troll OP all over this thread:

[quote]Despite brain dead chinks, the film journeys past 400 mil and will be one of the biggest films of the year.

[quote]So Hollywood now spends so much on budgets they must rely on China to recoup its finances? Got it.

[quote]The black community should boycott Chinese hood takeout and hair stores. Since the Chinese is unable to see their beauty and intelligence they should boycott the businesses in black neighborhoods.

[quote]R26 I’ve never heard of the artists themselves being racist.

[quote]How can a culture that values education to such a high degree also be so homophobic and intolerant. When will they change?

[quote]What really pissed me off about the debate is that the racists won and we didn’t even realize. When the film was first cast the argument was very Western centered and Maga and conservative white crowd said it would ruin their childhood and is too woke. The film has been massively successful in Western civilization.

[quote]China has stolen our jobs, damaged our economy for 40yrs, created Covid, and yet popular Mary’s on DL celebrated the films performance in CHina and received over 30 likes. Are they not intelligent enough to understand how the two things are related. China’s culture is oppressive and regressive. Why would any self respecting gay man celebrate that.

[quote]Racism and bigotry will always prevail because people will never see the larger picture. Or is it subversively on message for this film to have flopped in China as part of larger social commentary and that legacy will allow it to stand the test of time.

[quote]Just to play devils advocate. Maybe the Chinese understands the entire premise is dumb as fuck.

R52 You are such a real man. Fuck me or make love to me roughly. Yes I don’t care what they say. I want to bear your children. You can still sleep with other men. Just put a ring on it.

R44 I know but it was still stupid, she risked her entire life and gave up her friends and family out of some fantasy of what human life was like. She willingly gave up her voice and made a deal with the enemy of her kingdom who she knew was evil. She couldn't even talk to the man she fell in lust with. It wasn't love because you can't fall in love with someone just off of looking at them. She risked her entire kingdom's safety when Ursula turned on her (which why would she be shocked if she knew Ursula tried to overthrow her father's kingdom before?). And she did it all just to spite her father, that's just being an irrational angry teen. Realistic for her age but hardly smart and in real life that would have far worse consequences. Overall, it was just luck that worked in her favor. It's a children's movie, so happy ending but the message is still awful no matter how you look at it. Ariel was a spoiled brat. Risk your entire life and your kingdom, make a deal with the devil and willingly change yourself and give up your voice based off of some imaginative fantasy and puppy love just because you're mad at your father being protective over you. There's a reason, some parents don't want their kids watching Disney films and gaining some entitlement complex.

R51 You mean Oprah ? Or Melania ?

[quote] This is why men are often considered more patriotic, because a woman would just as easily give up her citizenship for love with a foreigner.

What country are you from? I've never heard "men are often considered more patriotic" in my life. What a load of bullshit.

[quote]They should have never signed Halle Bailey's $200M paycheck.

What the FUCK are you talking about?

R55 You have to be kidding. Everyone knows America’s Queen is Beyoncé Knowles Carter, whom also discovered the beautiful Hailey.

R56 This is very isolationist but American men are more likely to marry a non American woman versus the opposite.

R58 Chloe and Halle knew Beyonce since they were very little. She developed them behind the scenes for over a decade.

R60 And that "social science project" obviously flopped.

R61 How? Both are amazing singers and pretty and stylish. It's way too soon to say they'll flop. They'll have a long career just off the fact they're talented.

R60 That isn’t true. Queen Bey discovered them on YouTube and brokered their record deal with Sony entertainment. She then promoted them on their website and allowed them to tour with her.

R62 You're easily 'amazed'.

OP eats his own poo.

R65 Please if you have a scat fetish this isn’t the place to act out those desires. They have special websites for that. Please don’t come to Datalounge to exert your depravity.

R63 Chloe Bailey played the younger version of Beyonce's character in The Fighting Temptations which was released in 2003. She knew them since they were little.

R62 I like R&B and they're good at it. I've listened to them back since they were releasing mixtapes. I actually had no clue of their connection to Beyonce at the time.

Most artists aren't "discovered", they usually audition, have ambitious stage parents and managers and have some connections to the industry (attending NY or LA arts schools). The industry uses the whole "discovered" off social media to sell these artists better to the public as it helps the whole "inspirational" image to make them seem relatable.

Everyone knows blacks hates asians, they rob and kill asians all over the US. No one dares to speak the truth in the US.

Let’s look at this way.

The big four animated features of the Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) have all had a live action remake. Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin all grossed over a billion dollars. In fact, all three of those movies are in the top 50 of the highest grossing movies of all time, worldwide!

This The Little Mermaid fiasco should have been on track to gross over a billion dollars, easily. The casting and other bad creative decisions will cost Disney and everyone else who has a stake in it over $500 million dollars gross, at least.

If you like that Disney was willing to sacrifice so much money to do what it did, it’s all good. Disney is likely to continue to make choice that are not the best creatively or best for the bottom line, because of the firmly entrenched social Justice beliefs of the people running the company and departments.

R69 I don’t know if your attention is to be racist but low end blacks need to stop terrorizing Asians. It’s sick and racist and the media did a good job of highlighting that problem. I didn’t even know it existed. We should still boycott their businesses in our neighborhoods.

Black man punched an elder asian woman 125 times

R70 But all those films came out before Covid we must never diminish that fact. This film is also wildly successful in Western civilization. I don’t know why Disney did not try to cut cost knowing how racist the Chinese are. It’s overall legacy may still prevail and end up in the most successful 100 yrs from now.

A black man attacked an asian man on NYC subway

R70 Why should we feel bad for Disney? They're a privately owned multibillion company and they'll live. Maybe Halle was the best for the job? If she was ugly, far and couldn't sing and was included for diversity then I'd understand the "social justice beliefs" being a handicap. But she was well cast. Why is it an American company's fault that the Eastern world is backwards in regards to being colorist? It be nice if American companies put American consumers first again rather than pander to countries that don't even like us.

Thanks for pointing out the injustices. You are doing great service.

R77 Excellent point.

Another day , another black man attacks asian woman

Chinese Americans can be very arrogant. I’ve witnessed them berate and insult their black customers. It should be noted that 96% of the customers were black at these stores . But the legacy of slavery and coonery make blacks refuse to invest in their own neighborhoods. Sad. And no I’m not saying all Chinese are bad. They also should feel protected and not feel threatened from violence from deviant blacks.

[quote] But she was well cast. Why is it an American company's fault that the Eastern world is backwards in regards to being colorist?

It’s definitely Americans’ own fault for falsely accusing others of being racist or “colorist” when people appropriately reject Disney’s bad casting and creative choices. Americans need to learn to stop making such false accusations to explain away other problems.

R80 Will you help me organize a protest?

R83 But those same Americans constantly ridicule the Chinese and Chinese culture. Those Americans were speaking very self referential and denouncing woke culture. They were not thinking about overseas profits. Why are you making things up. Those Americans also think faggotry is wrong not all but many. They don’t think gay marriage is legitimate. They are a very righteous bunch. I see how you would respect their point of view.

And ultimately as we see from box office reports all these Karen’s and Joes took their little Becky’s to see the film in US OF KKK.

It's funny how statistics came out to show most anti-Asian and antisemitic hate crimes were committed by white Americans and black people were still the biggest target for hate crimes. Asian Americans worship white people so they'll never challenge them on their anti-Asian mentality. Black Americans didn't pass the federal law to ban Asians from immigrating to The US for four decades, force the Japanese into internment camps nor called COVID the "China virus." Asian Americans set up shops in the most dangerous and impoverished black neighborhoods and have done that for decades. Yet now they think black people are so "dangerous." Oh please

R88 Exactly. Why won’t that poster post those facts. Why won’t he do it. Are you not a self respecting gay r85, r82. Did you ever learn the word respect. Are you self loathing? What gives?

R83 Disney isn't even that popular in East Asia. Asians preferred Studio Ghibli and Pixar films. The first Mulan was hated in China because she acted like a Western teenager. Disney reflects American individualistic values which conflicts with East Asian values. The only reason the live action remakes were popular is because they were big budget spectacles with attractive white people in it. Marvel is popular too but most Asians never read the comics. Asians only complained about Halle in The Little Mermaid because she does not fit their beauty standard which is pale like the moon.

R90 Excellent points The Lion King and Aladdin also had big A list names like Queen Bey and Will Smith.

R88 tons of conservative whites boycott the little mermaid , why do you single out asians ? Just saying some asians are racists, so do whites , blacks and latinos. Fox news attacks the little mermaid all day long , why don’t you create a thread to call them white trash ?

[quote] The only reason the live action remakes were popular is because they were big budget spectacles with attractive white people in it.

Yes, like Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott in Aladdin.

Please try harder.

R91 Lion King also benefits from being mostly animals. Aladdin also had colorism in it's casting. Mena fit Aladdin (though he wasn't hot enough to me) but Naomi was still quite fair skinned (Jasmine is deep brown and looks like a beautiful Gulf Arab girl). Will was a blue genie.

Black Panther and Spiderman are exceptions because they're Marvel and have male leads. Like I said the beauty aspect is what is causing backlash here. Halle a black girl portrayed as sweet, pretty and innocent just isn't accepted by Eastern audiences. If Naomi was dark-skinned like Jasmine was in the cartoon, Indians and Asians would have complained. Americans aren't against it because we had Whitney Houston, Vanessa Williams, Beyonce, Halle Berry and Brandy as black girl next doors.

It's really bogus that racist Americans who also dislike Asians and Indians are using their colorism to justify their "anti-woke" (codename: anti-black) rants.

R93 Will was blue and genie. Naomi is mixed and clearly looks more white than Indian and nothing like Jasmine who is Arab. Mena, you may be onto something.

OP, “black people were still the biggest target for hate crimes.” Who are the people behind hate crimes target black people in this country ? Asians or whites ?

Why are DL posters, most of whom wouldn't even consider seeing the film, so up in arms about the viewing preferences of another country? Is it because Disney automatically must be worshipped? There's so much more to worry about than to sit behind a computer and go crazy with stupid generalizations and stereotypes. So they don't want to go to see the film. How does that affect daily life in the US? Get a life.

Jasmine technically would look like this. Model Yasmeen Ghauri. Who is a gorgeous woman but in Eastern countries, she'd be too dark. Bollywood would call her too dark.

[quote]The big four animated features of the Disney Renaissance (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King) have all had a live action remake. Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin all grossed over a billion dollars. In fact, all three of those movies are in the top 50 of the highest grossing movies of all time, worldwide!

I haven't seen THE LION KING, but I thought ALADDIN was pretty awful, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was so unwatchable (and unlistenable, insofar as the leading actress can't sing) that I have never been able to get through it. I'm sure the huge grosses of those movies -- all of which were released pre-pandemic, as someone else noted above -- were NOT because they were any good but just because they were eaten up by the demographic at which they were aimed.

The pandemic isn't an excuse for a movie like The Little Mermaid. There have been several movies that grossed over a billion dollars since movie theaters came back in 2021 (the Spider-Man, Top Gun, Jurassic World and Avatar sequels, plus Super Mario Brothers). The latest Doctor Strange and Minions sequels also came close to that figure.

The pandemic shift in viewing habits hit adult dramas hard, but blockbusters are back to normal.

R100 You are right. I just hope Hollywood doesn’t punish the Queen for this. She tried. She tried to send it forward and enhance a member of her race. Perhaps her eyes really are too far apart. I kid, Hailey is beautiful.

I can't believe THE VIEW (I mean Sunny Hostin) has not been promoting TLM at all - not even when it opened. I also can't believe THE VIEW (I mean Sunny Hostin) has not discussed the wave of black-on-Asian hate crime across America. Did she have 'the conversation' with Gabriel and Paloma yet ?

Is The View on a Disney channel?

Some Asians want to be white.

R103 It's on ABC and owned by Disney. They promote every move, every TV show, every Broadway musical with the Disney name on it.

Ugh. Camelot seems shitty

[quote]Some Asians want to be white.

And most whites should want to be Asians so they wouldn't be quite as stupid.

even Forbes says its a dud. disney is so fukd. why they not seem to care?

My friend who works for Disney said the film is still a great success because of all the merchandising and licensing involved. As long as the film breaks even Disney is satisfied because it appeases all the woke people in the industry with clout that they finally cast a black non Animated princess. Disney has prominent investors to worry about and it was huge hit in the Western world. Costs only spiraled to what they did because of all the reschedules and adjustments that had to be made during production when Covid erupted.

Pretty sure ^that was written by Romy and Michelle.

R110 Lol. What is that supposed to mean? You are hella funny.

Get real, its barely a success.

The film industry needs to burn to the ground.

They need to stop with these shitty live action remakes. The only good one was Jungle Book.

Let's see - 250M budget, so it'll become profitable at about 750M.

The film bombed. Here’s all the reviews from the author of OP’s article. All Mermaid puff pieces.

The film needs $620 to break even, and breaking even means it made no money. OP doesn’t understand that 50% of profit goes to theaters.

disney loves flops, tax write offs, etc, its all a big woke scam.

So it's a bad film that shouldn't have been remade, So what? Let's blame China. That's it. It's what Trump would want, so let's do it.

There’s a ton of African folklore and fairy tales. Disney could have found a movie idea by researching them. It would be even better if a black filmmaker did this. Key & Peele, Oprah, Ana Duvernay, I’m talking to you…not begrudging Miss Bailey a thing. But a live action version of an existing movie and a cheap cartoon movie (THE PRINCESS FROG) cannot satiate the moviegoers of color. We’ve made so many inroads in Hollywood. I’m confused as to why none of the people that I have mentioned have done anything about it.

[quote]But a live action version of an existing movie and a cheap cartoon movie (THE PRINCESS FROG) cannot satiate the moviegoers of color.

Last time I checked, the Chinese were " moviegoers of color" and they chose not to attend this live action version of an existing movie. So why all of the hate on DL?

it an ugly movie, bad cgi and darkly murky, not georgous ......

Because r121, they have issues with Ariel being reimagined as a woman of color. They’ve made it clear that they are uncomfortable with that.

Blame China, R122.

[quote] Because [R121], they have issues with Ariel being reimagined as a woman of color. They’ve made it clear that they are uncomfortable with that.

Just as “poc” have a problem with white actors playing non-white roles, including voice over. They started this nonsense.

Why do movies cost $250 million now, anyway? That's insane.

Give me an example r125.

Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman.

[quote]Because [R121], they have issues with Ariel being reimagined as a woman of color. They’ve made it clear that they are uncomfortable with that.

As have many Americans and even DL posters. Hell, " Mulan" even bombed in China, so let's not make this only about blacks, which the American media loves to do.

Any time the media and publicity whores can scream " racism," they will do it and get even more publicity and sympathy, whether or not it is credible.

[quote] Give me an example [R125].

Where the hell have you been the last 5 years?!

Don’t forget that only trannies can play trannies now.

[quote] They should have never signed Halle Bailey's $200M paycheck. But she convinced them she could pull them over that $500M domestic box office in it's opening weekend, and they believed her.

??? Halle Bailey had zero leverage negotiating with Disney. Her compensation was modest. I will say she sings the sh*t out of "Part of Your World." Her voice has echoes of Audra McDonald and Whitney Houston without sounding like either. Listening to her sing that song made me want to cry.

lol.

Hiss!

Gasp.

lol.

Idiot.

John Leguizamo is getting a little insufferable with his Italian sounding last name. I ain’t never met Puerto Rican with a name like that. I still want him to fuck me senseless.

Ms Bailey would’ve been perfect for the part of Nani in the live action LILO & STITCH. There’s a certain visual resemblance.

R140 And you would have been perfect as the first bootyhole in the Human Centipede 4.

R139 yes, papi needs to ram his dick inside me

John Leguizamo is not Puerto Rican, as he often claimed early in his career.

In fact, he was from Colombia. His family moved to NYC when he was very young.

R143 o wow. I knew it! I knew it. I know my boricuas.

Just hurry up and AI generate the actors already.

leguizamo was in a super gay film called Poison directed by todd haynes. its bad but good and odd, written by jean genet. its on his imdb page.

OMG that movie is sooooo gay , soldiers marrying each other. wild

Asian countries are mono ethnic and don’t care racial equity and diversity. To push this Western-centric view of race to Asian countries ironical reeks of racism and colonialism that y’all are so against.

^ On the nose. We're Americans, so everyone in the world MUST conform to our standards ( whatever they are today) or else we will nuke them. We are, after all, chosen by God.

[quote]When the film was first cast

Casted!

Regardless of color, that is one funny looking girl.

R148 that makes sense but it’s not like like Chinese kids in China grew up with the original Ariel. It’s because the stupid ass Chinese culture doesn’t see blacks as pretty or intelligent. Hell can we blame them with all the disastrous images of blacks Hollywood has released over the years. Many Chinese Americans do not like blacks yet make millions off them in their neighborhoods yet unwoke blacks still frequent these business for food and hair weaves. Lol, smh.

The film is still a success for the larger message.

They should get Queen Bey to promote the film during the Asian leg of her tour. She is the reason Hailey was casted.

[quote]t’s because the stupid ass Chinese culture doesn’t see blacks as pretty ...

Same thing with Americans and Asians. Just look at DL for example.

It's disappointing, but hardly surprising. I was stationed in Japan while in the Navy and saw a lot of Asia and it's people. Never has one group of people identified with the victor/oppressor than Asians have with white/Western people. Look at the anime films and TV shows. The characters look Caucasian, because they see that as the standard of beauty.

I take it this movie is dead in the water?

It dropped down 50% from last weekend.

So far, it has grossed only $467 million worldwide in its fourth week of release.

Its domestic gross is $255 million, but that means nothing when it had a production budget of $250 million.

That means it hasn't recouped, much less made a profit.

And it looks to barely to cross $500 million, when all is said and done.

VARIETY agrees

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” rounded out the top five with $11.6 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. The live-action remake has amassed $253 million in North America and $466 million to date, which would have been a good result… had the movie not cost $250 million to produce. At this rate, “The Little Mermaid” is struggling to break even in its theatrical run.

[quote]And it looks to barely to cross $500 million, when all is said and done.

The other three of the big Disney Renaissance live action remakes all grossed over a billion, so that's the benchmark. Making only half of that shows that some very bad decisions were made in the making of this film.

The world was clamoring for a 'drag queen' Ursula, King Triton the environmentalist, mixed-race mermen, and 'affirmative consent' slipped into prince's love song.

Why do so many commercials have only black people?

This film is a huge success. We live in a post Covid world and the budget increased nearly 40% because of all the Covid delays. Disney who thinks about long term legacy anticipated the film would underperform in Asia. Their culture only knows blacks for playing basketball and wrestling cornrows if not Will Smith. The film is a huge success.

R161 is spinning hard for this movie.

It underperformed EVERYWHERE.

Too many Vile deplorables here

Some of you are so obnoxious and know nothing about the industry. Any film that makes double its budget did more than break even. It is a profit. Any film that meets its budget breaks even, it is a mere lukewarm success until it matches double its profit for big budget films. Th films profit does not stop at the box office which is why studios will spend more than they sometimes want to on marketing. Most marketing costs aren not included in the budget sum. Notice I said most not all because every film has preliminary marketing expenses that is apart of that overall budget you see reported in trade magazines and listed in Wikipedia.

R163 More lies from a troll with an agenda. Made over 250 mil in the states. And huge numbers in England, France, and Canada. Many redneck deplorables took their kids to see it twice because the children begged them.

R165 is quite the dumbass, clearly.

R167 It’s ok klan grannies. Appeasement is near.

R165 is insane.

Face it, the Little Mermaid is a [bold]BIG FLOP[/bold]!

I have over fifty five people on ignore on Datalounge. I’ve blocked several of them on this thread alone…the racist trolls are like cockroaches…

There aren’t 55 people on DL altogether.

All I know is that loud mouth American conservatives actively push back, especially since they've developed that effective "woke" dog whistle, whenever a black entertainer, politician, student, whoever, receives major coverage. Their insistence that a fictional character was always white [despite the presence of African folklore entailing fish people (African folklore entails a lot of animal-human hybrid demigods) centuries before that story appeared in fairytale], tells you all you need to know in how absurd these racists are in thinking they have a monopoly on fiction 😆. Wait till they find out that Cinderella has roots in Chinese folklore.

And regarding that black-Asian tension: The Black community (of which I'm a part of) remembers how in recent history the Asians, in particular, were racially mistreated by white America during WWII but got compensated/reparations for it, all while blacks who fought for their country in that same war, came back to even more degradation through systemic racism. Asian community assimilated smoothly into America society while it has been a struggle for blacks. Asian community assimilated so well that they were complicit in systemic racism as lending institutions would approve their business loans if only they would set it up in black communities (rather than in white communities, all while not giving black applicants those very loans to set up shop in their own communities). Asians also willingly enforced that racism against blacks to sometimes detrimental results (read up on how the L.A. riots in the 90s started).

There's a lot to get into but racism against my people is real and entrenched in American society. I'm happy the movie was made and, for the most part, it was a really good movie. The theater I was in was full of mainly white people who, surprisingly, applauded the film after it ended. I doubt they did it to appease me and the other 4 blacks in the theater. It was a good live action adaptation, it's sad that folks are actively looking to find what's wrong with it rather than appreciate it for the feel good film it was.

[quote] The theater I was in was full of mainly white people who, surprisingly, applauded the film after it ended. I doubt they did it to appease me and the other 4 blacks in the theater.

In the locations where there is high degree of virtue signaling among the local white population, they might have.

R174, is Klan Grandpa

My Frau Karen coworker who voted for Trump in 2016 took her little twin girls to see it twice.

theyr saying when u take into account all the $ they will lose on lack of interest in merchandise, etc, it could be a 500 million dollar loss...