'The Little Mermaid' Makes a U.S. Box Office Splash — Leaving Haters All Wet

Disney's live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid" received a tidal wave of support over the holiday weekend, surfing to the fifth-best Memorial Day Weekend opening of all time.

Variety reports that the romantic musical about a lovestruck mermaid will earn $118 million over four days.

Led by Halle Bailey in a star-making turn as Ariel, the film was directed by Rob Marshall and features Melissa McCarthy as evil Ursula, the conniving sea witch, as well as Jonah Hauer-King as swoon-worthy Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as Ariel's disapproving dad King Triton, Noma Dumezweni as Prince Eric's queen mother, and voice performances by Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.

The update had faced pushback on social media over Bailey's casting by — what do you call 'em? Oh, yeah — haters, who were attached to Ariel being depicted as white and with flame-red hair. But real life isn't Twitter, and neither is the box office, and the film is set to be one of Disney's biggest successes in recent years.

“It’s a classic,” Tony Chambers, Disney’s head of distribution, told Variety. “You ask a lot of women or men of my age and it’s ‘Little Mermaid’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ that rank as their favorite animated movie. It’s a story that takes them back to their respective childhoods and this movie is the perfect opportunity for a lot of people to pass that love on to the next generation.”

The film cost $250 million, so has to demonstrate it can stay afloat over the summer, but a $68.3 million haul from international markets is below the mark. Deadline reports negative review-bombing abroad has hampered the film's box office, even as verified customers rate it highly.

Stephanie Mills, who famously played Dorothy in the all-Black "Wizard of Oz" musical "The Wiz" on Broadway, wrote on Instagram Saturday, "I know what this baby Halle Bailey has been dealing with. I got so much hate mail, I was told Judy Garland 'is turning over in her grave'. All because a little black girl was playing a role, that was once played by a white girl."

She went on, "It’s sad to see the same thing is happening to this beautiful, talented, smart and intelligent actress. Halle, God put you in this place and time….So let your light shine. Hold your head up high, walk in your peace, and celebrate the greatness that you are."

Mills urged moviegoers to support the film.

The rest of the Memorial Day Weekend box office, according to projections:

(1) "The Little Mermaid," $118M

(2) "Fast X," $28.7M

(3) "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3," $20M

(4) "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," $6.3M

(5) "The Machine," $5.8M

(6) "About My Father," $5.3M

(7) "Kandahar," $3M

(8) "You Hurt My Feelings," $1.8M

(9) "Evil Dead Rise," $1M+