Disney's Live Action The Little Mermaid

[DKampy]

They should have shut down the Bay-verse after 3. Bumblebee was pretty well liked by most and was a great re-start. I'm not sure how rise of the beasts will do. On one hand it seems like they are starting over again. So will people care? On the other hand. There's a lot of G1 fans and a lot of beast wars fans, and this seems to be giving both sides what they want. I don't see it doing a billion, but it could do really well if the word of mouth is strong.

I have a feeling it will not do well…I don’t feel any buzz…I know quite a few film fans in real life and no one is talking about Transformers… People mention The Flash, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, even Barbie, but there is no chatter about Transformers, but I could be wrong

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have a feeling it will not do well…I don’t feel any buzz…I know quite a few film fans in real life and no one is talking about Transformers… People mention The Flash, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, even Barbie, but there is no chatter about Transformers, but I could be wrong

Transformers is mainly an international play. It's not expected to do well domestically.

 

[erasure fan1]

Bumblebee isn't part of the Bay-verse neither is ROTB.

I know. The Bay-verse ended at 5, then bumblebee. I was saying it should have been left at a trilogy, then reboot. Instead they pushed it too far, souring some on bumblebee. I think bumblebee does significantly better if we didn't get 4 and 5. Especially last knight, that just killed it all.

 

[erasure fan1]

I have a feeling it will not do well…I don’t feel any buzz…I know quite a few film fans in real life and no one is talking about Transformers… People mention The Flash, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, even Barbie, but there is no chatter about Transformers, but I could be wrong

If it gives a good story, like bumblebee, it should do alright. It will definitely be bigger over seas than here. Unfortunately transformers are most associated with the Bay movies. And people in the U.S. at least, are a bit exhausted with them. I'm not sure the people who gave Bumblebee a chance, will want to reinvest yet again to a new universe. That's what could really hurt it.

 

[Disney Irish]

Merchandise sales doesn't always go with box office. See Wakanda Forever. That crap is still laying around even under clearance. Who knows how much merch sales Disney gets anyway. This is a Sony movie.

You'd be surprised how much merch Spidey sells, this is why Disney got Sony to agree to giving up all merch sales back in 2011.

 

[DKampy]

If it gives a good story, like bumblebee, it should do alright. It will definitely be bigger over seas than here. Unfortunately transformers are most associated with the Bay movies. And people in the U.S. at least, are a bit exhausted with them. I'm not sure the people who gave Bumblebee a chance, will want to reinvest yet again to a new universe. That's what could really hurt it.

We will see what happens…as someone who does not care for bay universe even the 1st one… I thought Bumblebee was excellent… I was surprised that it did not do better through word of mouth…the trailers to me look more in line with the Michale Bay movies but who knows

 

[Angel Ariel]

I have a feeling it will not do well…I don’t feel any buzz…I know quite a few film fans in real life and no one is talking about Transformers… People mention The Flash, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, even Barbie, but there is no chatter about Transformers, but I could be wrong

I had no idea a transformers movie was coming out until I saw the preview before little mermaid . I’ve seen no marketing for it anywhere

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Should they not audition black girls for the role?

Judging by the endless controversies whenever someone doesn’t correspond with the race, gender, sexuality, physical ability, etc of the character I think the answer is no.

Whether it’s hiring an able bodied person to play a disabled role, a black person to play a middle eastern role, a white person to play an Asian role, a straight person to play a gay person role, etc, etc, etc it all ends in controversy now.

There are people upset the fictional bird in TLM is a girl now instead of a boy. We live in a perpetually offended world.

 

[LittleBuford]

Whether it’s hiring an able bodied person to play a disabled role, a black person to play a middle eastern role, a white person to play an Asian role, a straight person to play a gay person role, etc, etc, etc it all ends in controversy now.

But Ariel isn't a white role.

 

[BlakeW39]

I have a hard time morally reconciling judging the success of a film based on China’s racist tendencies. There’s a time to just do the right thing regardless of the Chinese market.

What is the return on the goodwill generated with the worldwide black community?

What is the value of the black children (especially, but not only, girls) who get to see this in their formative years?

When you dig down, why else is there any reason to resent what you are calling “race swap?”

I was just reading how they auditioned various races for this role, and Halle was the best. Should they not audition black girls for the role?

View attachment 721701

Most people like characters who are iconographically consistent. That includes a person's hair color, skin color, heigh, build, the way they speak, etc. So yes, I dislike race swaps and gender swaps because they change a character's iconography. In the same way I wouldn't want them to make the Hulk blue. I like classic Hulk. I don't need him to be changed.

But Ariel isn't a white role.

Ariel is a white role. ?

 

[Phroobar]

I know. The Bay-verse ended at 5, then bumblebee. I was saying it should have been left at a trilogy, then reboot. Instead they pushed it too far, souring some on bumblebee. I think bumblebee does significantly better if we didn't get 4 and 5. Especially last knight, that just killed it all.

There is an animated Transformers One movie for next year. Josh Cooley from Toy Story 4 is directing.

‘Transformers One’ Voice Cast and New Details Revealed at CinemaCon

Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson lead the voice cast of Paramount's upcoming animated original story, set on Cybertron.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[TalkingHead]

Surprised nobody has asked why Eric is white in this film. Have any Disney films depicted a Black prince? Wouldn’t this have been an obvious opportunity to do that?

 

[erasure fan1]

I have a hard time morally reconciling judging the success of a film based on China’s racist tendencies. There’s a time to just do the right thing regardless of the Chinese market.

That's why so many of us constantly bring up budget. If every movie didn't need to do 650/750mil to break even, you wouldn't need to rely on the china box office. But Disney is all in on the spend like a drunken sailor for everything they do.

 

[DKampy]

I have a hard time morally reconciling judging the success of a film based on China’s racist tendencies. There’s a time to just do the right thing regardless of the Chinese market.

What is the return on the goodwill generated with the worldwide black community?

What is the value of the black children (especially, but not only, girls) who get to see this in their formative years?

When you dig down, why else is there any reason to resent what you are calling “race swap?”

I was just reading how they auditioned various races for this role, and Halle was the best. Should they not audition black girls for the role?

View attachment 721701

If people still don’t think that Ariel was not cast perfectly…then they have not watched the new Little Mermaid

 

[Phroobar]

That's why so many of us constantly bring up budget. If every movie didn't need to do 650/750mil to break even, you wouldn't need to rely on the china box office. But Disney is all in on the spend like a drunken sailor for everything they do.

Except on domestic theme park rides.

 

[Phroobar]

If people still don’t think that Ariel was not cast perfectly…then they have not watched the new Little Mermaid

It's not hard for a singer or model to make cute faces. It isn't exactly a hard role to play. This ain't Shakespeare.

 

[LittleBuford]

Ariel is a white role. ?

Ariel is a character that was portrayed as a young white woman in one version of the film and as a young black woman in another version.

 

[Jedijax719]

Can we please stop with these sweeping generalisations about China?

I am inclined to say that I have a hard time judging a film's success based on China's (or any other foreign country's) likes and dislikes. Period. Little Mermaid is an American film and is doing well in America. Saying it is a failure in countries with completely different cultures makes no sense. Does it affect the bottom line? Maybe. But equating that to failure? Nope.

But the general summary of this thread is:
1. TLM is a decent success in the USA
2. TLM has a 95% verified audience score but that is a lie and a conspiracy.
3. TLM has not been a success in Asian nations mostly
4. Disney is really bad and stupid because of #3.

 

[Jedijax719]

That's why so many of us constantly bring up budget. If every movie didn't need to do 650/750mil to break even, you wouldn't need to rely on the china box office. But Disney is all in on the spend like a drunken sailor for everything they do.

TLM's budget was "only" $70 million more than Aladdin's. It will end up $500-$600 million less than Aladdin WW. That's not a budget problem. If they spent the same exact amount on TLM as they did on Aladdin (despite the delays and the underwater sequences), would people still be complaining about how much Disney spent?

Likewise, if Disney "knew" that the movie would tank in Asian nations, does that change how they budget, market, or even distribute the movie overseas? As @doctornick said, it seems likely that the movie would struggle in the same places no matter what.

Thing is, there have been a bunch of people here who seem to take Disney's budget for this movie very personally, as if it determines their livelihood.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Surprised nobody has asked why Eric is white in this film. Have any Disney films depicted a Black prince? Wouldn’t this have been an obvious opportunity to do that?

You mean such as Naveen, who, as a prince and a person of color and is the reason Tiana becomes a princess by marriage?

The new TLM takes place obviously in the Caribbean where almost everyone is a person of color. The queen is a PoC. Eric is White because he was shipwrecked and the queen took him in and then adopted him.

This sets up the plot point of why Eric would take Ariel in even tho he thinks she's not the one who saved him, because it is cultural tradition to care for the shipwrecked.

Ariel's sisters are of different races (by appearance at least). Presumably because they tend to the Seven Seas of the World. And thus, it would seem that the Caribbean is Ariel's domain. Thus her friendship with Sebastian who has a Haitian accent.