"The Little Mermaid" tops North American weekend box office with $38 million on its first day

Disney's live-action remake "The Little Mermaid" earned $38 million on its first day, winning the North American weekend box office championship and dethroning Fast & Furious 10, whose global box office total exceeded $500 million in 12 days.

The film has a Rotten Tomatoes index of 67%, a CinemaScore rating of A, and earned $10.3 million at the box office on Thursday, ranking seventh among G/PG-rated movies. Analysts believe that the film's total box office in four days may exceed the $125 million forecast and reach more than $130 million. However, Disney remains cautious and the company internally expects the film's first-week box office to be between $120 million and $130 million.

Halle Bailey's performance in the film was praised by critics, but some netizens questioned whether the film's casting was reverse racism.

Disney doesn't expect the noise to affect the film's performance in North America, where it cost $250 million to make, and is now focusing on overseas box office sales. As of Sunday, "The Little Mermaid" had taken in $80 million outside North America.