Disney’s new live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” had an abysmal showing in China and South Korea, which a source told The Hollywood Reporter was due to the “racist reaction” toward the film.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the new film earned just $3.6 million during its first 10 days after being released in China, making it the worst-performing of all Disney live-action adaptations in that country. The movie didn’t do well in South Korea either, bringing in just $4.4 million through June 4.
The outlet noted that analysts expected “The Little Mermaid” to underperform in these countries but not to such an extreme extent.
One source blamed racism for being part of the reason for the movie’s poor showing. Halle Bailey, a black actress, was cast in the leading role as Ariel. Her inclusion in the film sparked a huge reaction worldwide, with people voicing their opinions about why they believe she was selected for the role.
“We did not expect the racist reaction and therefore, for the picture to underperform internationally,” the source said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Director Rob Marshall defended casting Bailey, insisting her race had nothing to do with his decision. “She immediately set the bar so high that no one surpassed it,” Marshall told The Hollywood Reporter in May. “We saw every ethnicity. There was no agenda to cast a woman of color. It was really just, ‘Let’s find the best Ariel,’ and Halle claimed the role.”
American audiences didn’t seem to mind the casting choice. “The Little Mermaid” had a strong opening for the Memorial Day holiday premiere, bringing in $117.5 million over the four-day weekend. But overseas, things were different.
A negative op-ed in China’s government-affiliated publication The Global Times laid out some of their criticisms of Disney’s latest live-action movie.
“The controversy surrounding Disney’s forced inclusion of minorities in classic films is not about racism, but its lazy and irresponsible storytelling strategy,” the writer argued. “Many Chinese netizens said that like ‘Snow White,’ the image of the mermaid princess in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales has long been rooted in their hearts and it takes a leap of imagination to accept the new cast.”
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The author accused movie makers of pursuing “political correctness” for financial gain rather than actually caring about diversity.
Reviews of “The Little Mermaid” have been mixed, though many critics specifically praise Bailey’s performance and singing ability as being a bright spot in the movie.
IMDb changed their rating system ranking for this movie specifically after it was suspected that users were “review bombing” the live-action Disney movie, which involves multiple users or fake accounts writing one-star reviews to intentionally drive down the rating. The Hollywood Reporter noted how the measures taken to weed out reviews made in “poor faith” are harder to enforce internationally, which could affect those box office numbers.