The Little Mermaid becomes one of the most-watched movie premieres on Disney+

Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid debuted on Disney+ last week and made one hell of a splash. According to Disney, The Little Mermaid has garnered 16 million views in its first five days on the streaming service, which makes it the most-watched Disney movie premiere on Disney+ since the release of Hocus Pocus 2 last year.

While The Little Mermaid wasn’t one of Disney’s strongest-performing live-action remakes, it went on to gross $569 million worldwide and stands (so far) as one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. Judging by the streaming numbers, it seems that many were eager to revisit The Little Mermaid (or watch it for the first time) on the streaming service. Disney says that a view is defined as total stream time divided by runtime.

The Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey (grown-ish) as Ariel, Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay (Luca, Good Boys) as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina (The Bad Guys) as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog’s Way Home) as Prince Eric, Art Malik (Homeland) as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni (Mary Poppins Returns) as Queen Selina, Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy (Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story) as the villain Ursula. The film was directed by Rob Marshall with a screenplay by David Magee.

“The Little Mermaid is visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of Disney’s beloved animated musical classic, the story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure,” reads the official synopsis. “The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.“

The Little Mermaid is already available on Digital and will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 19th. You can check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray right here.