The Little Mermaid Trailer Breaks a Record For Disney

Disney's anticpated The Little Mermaid Live Action remake is already breaking records and it's not even in theaters yet. Disney recently released the first full trailer for the latest live-action reimagining and generated more than 108 million global views in the first 24 hours of release. That makes it one of the most watched trailers for any of Disney's series of live-action remakes, and the biggest since The Lion King hit in 2019 according to the studio (via THR). The trailer made its debut during the Academy Awards on March 12th.

For context, The Lion King's first full trailer generated around 130 million views in 2019. The Little Mermaid's trailer passed the first full spot for Aladdin, which was watched 106.5 million times. Little Mermaid also passed the trailers for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Mulan, and Cruel.

Disney has set a high bar for box office returns on its live-action series. Beauty and the Beast (1,263,521,126), Aladdin (1,054,304,000), and The Lion King (1,663,075,401) all passed 1 billion at the box office globally, and The Little Mermaid could easily follow suit. The film is one of Disney's classic properties and should be a big winner at the box office.

Ariel will be played by Halle Bailey, and in an interview with ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis, she talked about how she's approaching the character and what she hopes people take away from the movie.

"Well, this movie means so much to me, since I was a little girl. I think, approaching this role, I said to myself, "I can only try my hardest and make myself proud. If I make the little girl inside me happy, then I know I did a good job and I know I'm doing my best." I just gave it my all, and I hope people can take something away from it," Bailey said. You can find the official description of The Little Mermaid below.

"The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton's daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father's crown – in jeopardy."

The film stars Bailey (grown-ish) as Ariel; Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog's Way Home) as Prince Eric; Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) as the voice of Sebastian; Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon) as the voice of Scuttle; Jacob Tremblay (Luca) as the voice of Flounder; Noma Dumezweni (Mary Poppins Returns) as Queen Selina; Art Malik (Homeland) as Sir Grimsby; with Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) as King Triton; and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Bridesmaids) as Ursula.

The Little Mermaid is directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Mary Poppins Returns) with a screenplay by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (Life of Pi, Finding Neverland). The songs feature music from Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) and lyrics by Howard Ashman, and new lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is produced by Marc Platt (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, Grease Live!), Miranda, John DeLuca (Tony Bennett: An American Classic), and Rob Marshall, with Jeffrey Silver (The Lion King) as executive producer.

The Little Mermaid hits theaters on May 26th.

Are you excited for The Little Mermaid? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things Disney with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

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