The Little Mermaid (2023): Hit or Flop? Casting Controversy

Few Disney remakes have sparked as much conversation before release as the live-action The Little Mermaid. Between a casting decision that made global headlines and a box office that some called a hit and others a question mark, the film sits at an unusual intersection of performance and controversy. Here is what the numbers say, what the reactions reveal, and what it all means for the future of Disney’s live-action strategy.

Worldwide box office: $569.6 million · Production budget: $250 million · Rotten Tomatoes (critics): 67% · Rotten Tomatoes (audience): 94% · IMDb rating: 6.3/10

Eight key specs, one pattern: the film’s production scale was among Disney’s largest, but it didn’t need to be the highest-grossing to break even.

The implication: the film’s financial viability depended on crossing $500 million, which it did, but margins were thinner than Disney’s usual blockbusters.

Was The Little Mermaid 2023 a hit or flop?

How much did The Little Mermaid 2023 earn at the box office?

• The film opened domestically over Memorial Day weekend 2023 with $118.6 million (The Walt Disney Company, parent company).
• Worldwide gross reached about $570 million by September 2023 (The Walt Disney Company).
• Box Office Mojo records exactly $569,642,672 worldwide, with domestic at $298,172,056 and international at $271,470,616 (Box Office Mojo, box office tracking site).

The implication: The $250 million budget (per IMDb film database) plus marketing costs put the break-even near $500 million. Crossing that mark made it profitable by industry standards.

What was the budget and break-even point?

• IMDb lists an estimated budget of $355.1 million (IMDb) – note that this figure differs from the commonly cited $250 million; the $250M figure is more frequently reported in trade media.
• Disney confirmed the film was one of the top five highest-grossing films of summer 2023 domestically (The Walt Disney Company).

Why did they make Ariel black?

What did Disney say about the casting choice?

• Disney’s official statement: “Halle Bailey brought incredible talent and a fresh energy to the role” (The Walt Disney Company).
• Director Rob Marshall and the casting team chose Bailey after an exhaustive search, citing her vocal ability and screen presence (The Washington Post, major newspaper).

The catch: Disney never explicitly framed the decision as a diversity initiative in public statements, but the casting aligns with broader corporate DEI goals. The company has invested in diverse leads across several recent projects.

How did audiences react to the race swap?

• Backlash erupted shortly after Bailey’s announcement in July 2019, with the hashtag #NotMyAriel trending (Wikipedia, open encyclopedia).
• The teaser trailer in September 2022 intensified criticism, which some observers called racially motivated (Wikipedia).
• Chinese state media outlet Global Times criticized the film for “forced inclusion of minorities” and “lazy and irresponsible storytelling” (Wikipedia).
• Despite the controversy, Bailey’s performance was widely praised, and she reportedly earned the role through her talent (Geeks Under Grace, Christian gaming site).

The pattern: The casting controversy dominated pre-release discourse, but once the film landed, many critics and audiences separated the politics from the performance.

Was The Little Mermaid 2023 good?

What are the Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb scores?

• Critic score: 67% on Rotten Tomatoes (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator).
• Audience score: 94% on Rotten Tomatoes (The Walt Disney Company).
• IMDb rating: 6.3/10 (IMDb film database).
• Forbes noted the 95% audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes on May 31, 2023, far above the critic score of 67% (Forbes, business publication).

Why it matters: The gap between critic and audience scores – 27 percentage points – is unusually wide. Some of that gap may reflect review-bombing, but also genuine enthusiasm from families and fans of the original.

What did critics and audiences praise or criticize?

• Praise: Halle Bailey’s singing and presence, visual effects, and new songs.
• Criticism: Some animation quality, pacing issues, and deviations from the original.
• The Washington Post reported that IMDb took action after an unusual influx of negative audience reviews that may have been tied to Bailey’s casting (The Washington Post, major newspaper).

What is the inappropriate scene in The Little Mermaid?

Which scene was considered inappropriate?

• A scene where Ariel, after gaining legs, wears a form-fitting dress that some parents found too revealing for young children.
• The scene is not explicit; the film holds a PG rating (IMDb film database).

Why did some parents raise concerns?

• Debate on social media centered on whether the dress’s silhouette was appropriate for a character aimed at young girls.
• Disney did not comment directly on the criticism.

The trade-off: In trying to make Ariel’s transformation visually modern, the filmmakers created a split-second silhouette that became a parenting flashpoint. For families with very young children, it’s a moment worth previewing.

Is Ursula LGBTQ?

Is Ursula’s portrayal different from the original?

• The character retains the same sea-witch archetype but is played by Melissa McCarthy (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator).
• Originally inspired by the drag queen Divine, Ursula’s design has long been read as queer-coded.

What did the director say about Ursula’s sexuality?

• Director Rob Marshall told press: “We didn’t want to label her. She is a sea witch.” (YouTube interview transcript).
• No explicit confirmation of Ursula’s sexuality exists in the film.

The catch: The film neither confirms nor denies an LGBTQ+ reading, leaving it open to interpretation while avoiding political entanglements.

“I never thought I would see someone who looks like me in a princess role.”

— Halle Bailey, on being cast as Ariel

“We didn’t label her. She is a sea witch.”

— Director Rob Marshall, on Ursula’s sexuality

“Halle Bailey brought incredible talent and a fresh energy to the role.”

— Disney official statement

The film’s journey reveals a fundamental tension in modern franchise filmmaking: commercial success no longer shields a movie from culture-war polarization. The Little Mermaid earned more than half a billion dollars and scored a 94% audience rating, yet its pre-release discourse was dominated by questions about race, gender, and appropriateness. For Disney’s live-action strategy going forward, the lesson is clear: casting decisions now carry both marketing and political weight, and the old formula of “make a good movie and audiences will come” is tangled with a new reality where every choice is a statement. For fans who just wanted to see Ariel under the sea again, the 2023 version delivered a solid spectacle – but it also reminded everyone that the world watching is not the same one that hummed “Part of Your World” in 1989.

For a deeper analysis of the debate around its casting, see the debate around its casting.

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