'The Little Mermaid' Edges Close To $500M Global Box Office Milestone

The racist remarks against Halle Bailey have nothing on her and "The Little Mermaid"!

The movie has continued gaining public traction and is on a record-breaking track despite its slow start at the box office and the continued racist attack on Bailey. The attacks had recently seen political commentator Matt Walsh telling viewers his eponymous show that it did not "make sense to have someone with darker skin who lives deep in the ocean" from a "scientific" standpoint.

Walsh should be ready to eat those words as the live-action remake is set to hit the $500 million worldwide box office milestone, racking in more sales for its fifth weekend.

While initial projections did not look promising for "The Little Mermaid," the live-action Disney project has continued to produce befitting results. Per Deadline, the fantasy musical film brought in an additional $8.6 million during its fifth weekend at the box office, alongside an extra $9.4 million from global sales.

With these figures, the Rob Marshall-directed film has brought its domestic total to $270.2 million and its global sales to $229.1 million, meaning its worldwide total is now $499.3 million. It also dropped 21.5% in its fifth weekend, even with losing 205 theaters,  for an amended theater count of 3,275.

Internationally, the beloved Disney production continued its strong performance, holding the market with 41% and remaining the top box office performer in Japan for its third consecutive week.

"The Little Mermaid" was initially projected to make over $100 million during the three-day weekend, with an upward review to $120 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend.

The film made $95.5 million from 4,320 theaters during its three-day weekend and $118.8 million for the four-day count. Putting things in perspective, The Blast recorded that the original animation of the Disney film's initial domestic screening grossed $84 million, getting an all-time domestic gross of $111 million and a worldwide total of $211 million since its 1989 release.

In addition to Walsh's criticism of Hailey's involvement in the project, many others have agreed that casting Hailey was an awful choice due to the 23-year-old not being suitable for the character, voiced by white actress Jodi Benson, from the original animated film. Benson has since come to the "Forgive Me" singer's defense, declaring in July 2019:

"The most important thing is to tell the story. And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves, that we don't see anything that's different on the outside."

"The Little Mermaid," which debuted in May, features Bailey as the eponymous heroine, Ariel, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, the Crab.

The progression of the Bailey-led film has shocked naysayers who projected that it would flop since it did not have its previous white lead star in it. Amid the controversy, the other half of the musical Chloe x Halle duo touched on the backlash she has received since news of her playing the role of Ariel became public, stating:

"As a Black person, you just expect it, and it's not a shock anymore."

As for her being the on-screen representative for young, dark-skinned girls, the "Grown-ish" regular pointed out, "I hope that they just know that they are worthy, and we deserve to be in these spaces. And I hope they see themselves and me on the screen." The "For the First Time" songstress further stated:

"I know people are like: ​’It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m her…People don’t understand that when you’re Black there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves."

Meanwhile, Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, applauded the success of "The Little Mermaid," taking to social media to query, "Where's everyone who said this would flop?"

As The Blast observed last month, the famous Reddit founder informed his followers and fans that he and his family, including his daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. and his wife, enjoyed the two-hour-long flick. 

Additionally, the doting father-of-one acknowledged the outstanding talent that Bailey exhibited in the film, giving the "Let It Shine" actress credit for her astounding musical performance.