Despite earning upwards of $560 million at the box office while showing remarkable staying power in theaters around the world, it’s still too early to say whether or not The Little Mermaid is a flop.
After all, it was estimated prior to its release that the live-action Disney remake needed to clear at least $600 million in ticket sales to even consider breaking even, although it’s admittedly in a much better position now that Rob Marshall’s underwater epic is available on digital and VOD.
Having overcome unsavory backlash and review-bombing that turned the whimsical reimagining of a classic into a lightning rod for racist tirades and brutal bouts of negativity, The Little Mermaid is now turning the tide of resentment to establish itself as one of the most popular features available on a multitude of platforms to reinforce the notion that the people who hate it so much are truly a vocal minority.
Per FlixPatrol, Halle Bailey’s Ariel has led the blockbuster do-over to a Top 10 spot on Amazon’s worldwide charts, as well as securing number one on iTunes in 22 countries around the globe, not to mention its status as a high-flyer on Google Play and Vudu, too.
The Little Mermaid will only continue gaining a bigger audience once it premieres on Disney Plus, which will hopefully consign the questionable outpouring of bile to the cultural scrapheap once and for all, at least until the next contentious remake comes along. Based on the current discourse surrounding Snow White, we won’t even have to wait that long, either.