The Little Mermaid Trailer Earns Most Disney Live-Action Views Since ‘The Lion King’

Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has set a new record for the studio, with over 108 million global views of its first full trailer in the first 24 hours of release. The trailer premiered during the Academy Awards ceremony on March 12, with stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy introducing the spot. Bailey plays Ariel, while McCarthy stars as the villainous Ursula.

Directed by Rob Marshall, the film features Javier Bardem, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay and Jonah Hauer-King in co-starring roles. The movie tells the story of a mermaid longing to join the human world, and includes updated versions of the original music as well as four new songs.

The Little Mermaid is set to open in theaters over Memorial Day, with Alan Menken returning to update his score and pen a new song featuring lyrics from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Bailey, known for her work in the R&B duo Chloe x Halle, was cast in 2019, and this marks her biggest role to date.

Disney has seen great success with live-action remakes of its animated classics over the past decade, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, which have all grossed over $1 billion globally. Other remakes in the works include Snow White and Lilo & Stitch, as well as a Lion King prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King, from director Barry Jenkins.

Following its debut at the Oscars, The Little Mermaid became Twitter’s No. 2 trend for the night, and the trailer also climbed to YouTube’s No. 1 Globally Trending video.

*Disney India releases ‘The Little Mermaid’ on 26th May 2023. Only in Cinemas*