LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Halle Bailey wore a disguise to watch her new movie 'The Little Mermaid' at a theater on Friday, May 26. The controversial remake of the 1989 Disney animated classic is performing well on its first weekend at the box office, despite being branded a "woke" fest.
Bailey, 23, slipped into a movie theater to experience the film with an unsuspecting audience on opening day. The actress documented her trip on TikTok, revealing to her millions of followers on the platform how she managed to sneak into the show.
READ MORE
The Pain of Being a Mermaid: Halle Bailey endured hell to deliver the performance of a lifetime
Bailey put on a face mask, purportedly for Covid-19 reasons, and wore sunglasses that further obscured her face. The actress and singer shared footage of herself wandering the movie theater halls and posed in front of a giant poster that depicted her character as Ariel in the movie. She bought herself a Little Mermaid-themed tub of popcorn which had a picture of her as Ariel splashed across the side. The TikTok post was set to her new recording of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's song 'Part Of Your World', which featured in the original film as well as the remake, according to the Daily Mail.
Stellar box office opening
Bailey's secret outing came after reports that 'The Little Mermaid' is performing well at the box office in its first weekend. The live-action project, which reportedly spent about $150,000 on star Bailey's red hair, appears to have already recouped those costs. The hotly anticipated musical earned $38 million in ticket sales on the film's opening day Friday and was on track to become the third highest-grossing movie ever for the Memorial Day weekend. The film is expected to pull in close to 104 million for the Friday through Sunday numbers and will earn between $120–$130 million for the four-day break, per Deadline.
Bailey's character Ariel is the youngest daughter of King Triton, portrayed by Javier Bardem, 54, who rules the seas. Fueled by her curiosity to experience life beyond the ocean, Ariel, at one point rescues a shipwrecked prince, Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, 27. She then makes a deal with Melissa McCarthy's devilish sea witch Ursula to experience life as a human. However, she has to sacrifice her mesmerizing singing voice as part of the deal and the only way she can recover it is through a true love's kiss.
Positive reviews
Meanwhile, the action-packed romantic adventure is also scoring high with audiences across all ages and races. A whopping 91 percent of moviegoers reported a positive attitude toward the film and 76 percent said they would definitely recommend it. The racial breakdown of the film's audience, according to Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak, is 35 percent Black, 25 percent Latino and Hispanic, 26 percent Caucasian, and 11 percent Asian. At the same time, the casting of Bailey has sparked a major backlash from the public because a Black woman is portraying a White character.
