How Disney's live-action remakes keep crossing $1B mark despite criticism
The premiere of Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid was held on Monday in Los Angeles. Fans were quick to share their impressions on social media, but the debate about the necessity of remakes remained. However, amidst all the discussions, one fact remains—Disney's remakes have been crossing $1B mark at the box office. Let's decode how Disney manages to achieve this despite criticisms.
Power of nostalgia
Nostalgia is a powerful force that draws audiences to Disney's remakes because the current adult target audience was kids back then, who grew up watching movies like Aladdin and The Lion King. Notably, Disney consistently utilizes iconic visuals, such as Aladdin and Jasmine flying on a magic carpet, to begin the trailers—marketing it as an opportunity to revisit the story and characters audiences loved.
International appeal
Sometimes, a movie that fails to resonate with audiences in its home country can become a huge hit overseas. This has been particularly true for many Disney films. For example, Dumbo (2019) earned just $114M at the domestic box office but brought in $352M worldwide. Alice in Wonderland made $334M domestically and a staggering $1B worldwide. Aladdin made $355M domestically and over $1B worldwide.
Casting high-profile, renowned actors
Beauty and the Beast featured Emma Watson; Will Smith starred as Genie in Aladdin; and the upcoming The Little Mermaid features Halle Bailey. All these films have one thing in common—high-profile, renowned actors in the lead roles. Disney is simply reaping the benefits of using a Hollywood star to bring in a new audience who may be interested in seeing their favorite actor.
When controversies helped boost the business
Ever since the teaser of The Little Mermaid was released, many were not happy seeing Bailey—a black actor—portraying the lead character of the mermaid—Ariel. But, the conversation it sparked online helped in bringing the film into the spotlight. Before this, Aladdin faced backlash for its portrayal of the East in a bad light, but the debate somehow contributed positively to the film's overall success.
Are Disney's remakes critic-proof?
Critics, time and again, have questioned the need for remakes and criticized the majority of Disney's films. For example, The Lion King, the highly-anticipated Disney remake, scored a mere 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, joining the likes of Alice in Wonderland (51%) and Aladdin 57%, respectively. Despite bad reviews, it didn't impact the performance at the box office, indicating that Disney's films are largely critic-proof.
