The Little Mermaid underperforms in China and South Korea
The little Mermaid by Rob Marshall is the latest live-action film adapted from a classic Disney cartoon. As in the 1989 version, it features the character of Ariel (Halle Bailey), a young mermaid, daughter of King Triton (Javier Bardem), who has the mad desire to leave meet people. Despite her father’s formal ban on her, King of the Oceans, she falls in love with Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Driven by her love for her, and her desire for freedom, she agrees to a deal with the witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to gain a human appearance. But at what cost?
In France, the film attracted nearly one million admissions. In the US, it made nearly $200 million.. In total, it grossed nearly $340 million worldwide box office in two weeks A nice score, which could have been much higher if the film hadn’t been a resounding failure in China.
Racism in question?
As we learn The Hollywood Reporter, The little Mermaid grossed just $3.6 million in ten days of operation in China. Regard worst start for a Disney live action, a long way from 44 million The beauty and the Beast. Ditto for South Korea, where she earned just $4.4 million. For comparison, too cruelreleased in the midst of a health crisis, it had earned $24 million on Chinese soil.
The American magazine points out that the bad noise following the announcement of Halle Bailey in the role of Ariel was particularly virulent in these two countries. The choice of a black actress to play the mermaid has been widely criticised, especially in China. An article had also appeared in an important Chinese magazine criticizing the choice of the actress, The global times, close to the government. One could then read:
The controversy surrounding the forced inclusion of minorities in classic Disney films is not about racism, but about its lazy and irresponsible storytelling strategy (…) Many Chinese netizens said that, just like Snow White, Hans’ mermaid image Christian Andersen’s fairy tales have long been rooted in their hearts and that it takes great imaginations to accept the new cast (…) If Disney continues to go down this path, the public, especially innocent children, will no longer worry if “the prince and princess live happily ever after”, but “what is the color of the skin of the prince and princess”, and the fairy tale will lose its magic.
Source: Cine Serie
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