SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 22: Halle Bailey attends the Australian premiere of “The Little Mermaid” at State Theatre on May 22, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

“ The Little Mermaid ” made moviegoers want to be under the sea on Memorial Day weekend.

Disney’s live-action remake of its 1989 animated classic easily outswam the competition, bringing in $95.5 million on 4,320 screens in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

And Disney estimates the film starring Halle Bailey as the titular mermaid Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as her sea witch nemesis Ursula will reach $117.5 million by the time the holiday is over. It ranks as the fifth biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever.

It displaces “Fast X” in the top spot. The 10th installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise starring Vin Diesel has lagged behind more recent releases in the series, bringing in $23 million domestically for a two-week total of $108 million for Universal Pictures.

In its fourth weekend, Disney and Marvel’s “ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” made an estimated $20 million in North America to take third place. It’s now made $299 million domestically.

Fourth went to Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which keeps reaching new levels in its eighth weekend. Now available to rent on VOD, it still earned $6.3 million in theatres. Its cumulative total of $559 million makes Mario and Luigi the year’s biggest earners so far.

Comics couldn’t stand up to Ariel as the week’s other new releases sank.

“The Machine,” an action comedy starring stand—up comedian Bert Kreischer, finished fifth with $4.9 million domestically. And ” About My Father,” the broad comedy starring stand-up Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro, was sixth with $4.3 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Little Mermaid,” $95.5 million.

2. “Fast X,” $23 million.

3. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” $20 million.

4. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” $6.3 million.

5. “The Machine,” $4.9 million.

6. “About My Father,” $4.3 million.

7. “Kandahar,” $2.4 million.

8. “You Hurt My Feelings,” 1.4 million.

9. “Evil Dead Rise,” $1 million.

10. “Book Club, The Next Chapter,” $920, 000.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press




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