After what feels like decades of coverage and think-pieces, The Little Mermaid is headed to theaters in just a few days and it’s already projected to make a big splash in the box office, despite criticism from Disney fans who believe the live-action remakes are unnecessary at best. For most of the remakes, that criticism feels valid; but a lack of live-action Disney films with a heroine of color makes me hope The Little Mermaid is able to surpass the mediocrity of most Disney remakes and have a better chance at earning critical acclaim.
Meanwhile, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger is employing a tried and true method of keeping costs down after the company’s latest quarterly report failed to impress shareholders (if you guessed “layoffs,” you may be entitled to severance pay). This development follows a massive exodus of Disney Plus subscribers, who might not be so eager to leave if the entertainment company bothered to promote this new star-studded show that just hit the streaming service today. As usual, Disney news doesn’t always make sense but it sure is entertaining.
As mostly positive reviews begin to roll in, The Little Mermaid is predicted to land a big catch in the domestic box office
Although the film’s director said the quiet part out loud and admitted he has no idea why the film needs a remake, Disney seems to have the right idea as The Little Mermaid is projected to make $100 million this upcoming weekend. Accounting for the Memorial Day holiday, the movie will likely make an estimated $120 million to $125 million at the end of Monday evening. To his credit, director Rob Marshall made an effort to develop the film’s story into one he felt was worth telling in 2023, but he was never going to be able to make any big changes to the plot made famous in the animated film without feeling the wrath of Disney die-hards.
If the current Rotten Tomatoes score of 74 percent is anything to go by, these choices have resulted in what seems to be a perfectly alright movie. The score is trending upwards at least; just two days ago, the film had a worse score than seven of its live-action predecessors, but now it’s nearing the top five. This doesn’t mean the film is a necessary addition to the Disney film universe, but I want to believe the House of Mouse is capable of pulling off some much-needed Disney magic and making a live-action film I not only will want to see in theaters, but will actually enjoy. Hopefully, Halle Bailey’s incredible performance as Ariel is a sign the film will break the live-action remake curse.
Laying off thousands of Disney workers is definitely one way to save money
A third round of Disney layoffs has begun according to several reports, following a first and second round in March and April, respectively. CEO Bob Iger announced in February that the conglomerate would lay off roughly 7,000 employees by the beginning of summer as part of an effort to cut costs to the tune of $5.5 billion. The 7,000 employee figure amounts to roughly 3% of Disney’s workforce and includes companies such as ESPN, Disney Parks, Disney’s entertainment division, and Disney’s experiences and products division. Per CNN, Disney has terminated over 4,000 employees during its first two rounds of layoffs.
The layoffs were first announced during a quarterly call and during the latest quarterly report, Iger shared he believed Disney would “meet or exceed” the $5.5. million goal. The company’s restructuring follows the lowest dive in Disney stock since Iger resumed his position as CEO. In the latest quarter, Disney Plus lost over four million subscribers and reported a loss of $659 million. Disney’s profit during the most recent quarter, however, was $1.1 billion. While Disney employees are understandably less than thrilled with the latest round of layoffs, Iger was in good spirits when he informed shareholders and analysts of the strategy’s results:
“I’m pleased to say the strategy we detailed last quarter is working. Our new organization structure is returning authority and accountability to our creative leaders, as well as allowing for a more efficient, coordinated and streamlined approach to our operations.”
American Born Chinese heads to Disney Plus with surprisingly little fanfare considering how stacked its cast is
In entertainment-related news, the new Disney Plus series American Born Chinese premiered today. If that comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone; other than a handful of YouTube ads, it doesn’t feel as if Disney spent too much time promoting the show, another fact I, and others, find shocking. The new series is based off the comic book of the same name by Gene Luen Yang and is executive produced by Destin Daniel Cretton, who wrote and directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and is currently working on the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (though I’ll always have a soft spot for his earlier film, Short Term 12). If that name wasn’t big enough to warrant some next level marketing, the show’s cast is full of Academy Award winning actors.
Michelle Yeoh, fresh off her Best Actress Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All at Once stars as the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, and several of her EEAO co-stars also star in the show: Ke Huy Quan (who won Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Academy Awards) is Freddy Wong, Stephani Hsu is the goddess Shiji Niangniang, and James Hong is Jade Emperor. If you watched this year’s Oscars — and heck, even if you didn’t — you know the film and its actors won in almost all major categories, which makes the lack of buzz even more surprising.
American Born Chinese follows high school student Jin Wang, a son of Chinese immigrants who only wants to blend in at his all-American school. When an exchange student named Wei-Chen arrives at school, he latches onto Jin who isn’t comfortable with the exchange student’s loud and confident personality. Wang learns that Wei-Chen is not actually from China, but instead has traveled from Heaven as the son of the legendary Monkey King and believes Jin is destined to help him save Heaven from an evil uprising. All that to say, the plot is ridiculously cool and critics agree; Rotten Tomatoes declares American Born Chinese certified fresh at 93 percent. If you think the series sounds as good as I do, be sure to watch it and hopefully prevent Disney from removing it from their streaming catalogue before it’s too late.
