It is a sad state of affairs that this country has to make an issue of black women playing a mermaid and caused China not to even go to the movies. I wish we were better but we are not. Little black girls need to dream too. They are taught at a young age that they don’t count. Even in their own community, the word “bitch” is the power word now. “Boss bitch” is a compliment. Just like being called “nigga” is not bad. That does not sit well with me at 60 years old we need to have to make it better.
The Truth is Halle has more to do with ariel
Disney’s live-action remake, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, is headed for the holiday weekend’s fifth-biggest opening of all time.
The Little Mermaid is doing laps around the competition at the Memorial Day weekend box office.
Disney’s live-action remake of the iconic animated film is sprinting to an estimated $118 million domestic debut, the holiday’s fifth-biggest opening of all time, according to studio projections. (Rival studios show Little Mermaid opening to $120 million-plus.) The three-day gross is an estimated $96 million for a global launch of $185.8 million through Monday. On Saturday, the film looked to earn as much as $125 million over the long holiday weekend but domestic estimates shifted.
Overseas, Little Mermaid started off with a disappointing $68.3 million from 51 markets, including China, where the film drowned with a launch of just $2.5 million. Box office pundits say the social media campaign against a Black actress being cast as Ariel could be having an impact in Asian markets and elsewhere.
In North America, The Little Mermaid earned a promising A CinemaScore. It is the first 2023 summer tentpole to target females, who made up 68 percent of ticket buyers. The film also is drawing an ethnically diverse audience; 35 percent of ticket buyers so far were Black, followed by White (33 percent), Latinos (23 percent) and Asian/Other (9 percent). Black moviegoers over-indexed in a major way, while white moviegoers under-indexed.
Rob Marshall directs the live-action adaptation. The new Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, the spirited young mermaid who makes a dangerous deal with the evil sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) in order to experience life on land and meet the dashing Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). The pact, however, poses a great risk to her father’s watery kingdom.
The cast also includes Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Javier Bardem, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, and Art Malik.
Bailey’s performance as Ariel has drawn praise from critics amid a racist backlash from social media commenters protesting the casting of a Black actress in the title role. Disney insiders don’t expect these protestations to hurt the film in North America but are waiting to see how the movie plays overseas.
Last year’s Top Gun: Maverick scored the biggest Memorial Day opening of all time with $160.5 million, followed by 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($153 million), 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($152 million) and 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand ($122 million).
You have to be a really bad person not to want a little black girl to have someone to look up to. It is said that some people are mad about this. Just wonder how it feels for years never to see yourself on screen in a positive way.
Representation Matters, Beautiful Black Girls Reaction to The Little Mermaid Trailer
