Aladdin star Mena Massoud's comments on the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid have landed him in hot water. Massoud played the titular thief-turned-prince in the 2019 remake of Aladdin, which was directed by Guy Ritchie. The film went on to gross over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the third highest-grossing live-action Disney remake behind 2017's Beauty and the Beast and 2019's The Lion King 2019.
Recently on Twitter, Massoud commented on a user's post that speculated whether 2023's The Little Mermaid could reach $1 billion at the box office after it was projected to open slightly higher than Aladdin's opening weekend. Massoud guessed that the film won't "cross the billion mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel" because it won't be rewatched by fans to the same degree that Aladdin was. This speculation sparked outrage among Little Mermaid fans, and shortly after this exchange, Massoud deleted his Twitter account. Check out the Tweet Massoud responded to as well as select fan reactions below:
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Will The Little Mermaid Outgross Aladdin?
Massoud's comments about The Little Mermaid's rewatchability are unfounded, and he has been criticized for undervaluing the original film's lasting cultural impact. However, there is still a question as to whether the new live-action film, coming to theaters on May 26, will be able to outgross Aladdin. In addition to considerations of how pre-pandemic films performed compared to modern blockbusters, the original Aladdin did outgross the original Little Mermaid by over $100 million.
However, The Little Mermaid's box office looks strong. Its current early opening weekend projections see the film landing at around $115 million, which would outgross the original film's entire domestic run in just three days. Screen Rant's analysis of May 2023's Most Anticipated titles also assessed that The Little Mermaid was second behind only Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
That analysis could spell good things for The Little Mermaid, which will have to compete with the following weekend's release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to the 2018 smash hit. However, Aladdin faced a similar challenge as it was followed by Godzilla: King of the Monsters in late May 2019. If The Little Mermaid manages to maintain its slight edge over Aladdin's opening weekend, it should be able to gross $1 billion and surpass the other film's total with relative ease.
Source: Various [See links above]
