‘The Little Mermaid’ makes a splash at the domestic box office

Disney’s live-action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’ is off to a strong start after bringing in an opening day total of $38 million.

The film is opening in 4,320 theaters, and is expected to make somewhere between $120 million and $130 million over the course of the four-day Memorial Day weekend.

It earned a promising A on CinemaScore, though it holds just a 66 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It also took in $10.3 million in previews on Thursday. This makes it the seventh-highest rated figure for a movie rated G or PG.

As for overseas, ‘The Little Mermaid’ is on course for an $80 million opening through Sunday. Given the film cost $250 million to make, Disney will be hoping the strong numbers continue.

“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Rob Marshall and also stars Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder the fish and Awkwafina as Scuttle the seabird.

Elsewhere at the box office

‘Fast X’ will finish the weekend in the number two spot, bringing in around $28 million over the four-day weekend.

It opened to $67 million at the domestic box office last weekend, and is on course to cross the $500 million mark at the global box office this weekend.

That would make it the third-highest grossing film of the year globally.

‘The Machine’ and ‘About My Father’ are also opening nationwide this weekend, but neither film is expected to be big earners.

‘The Machine’ stars Bert Kreischer and is inspired by the comedian’s stand-up act of the same name. The film, which co-stars Mark Hamill, is on pace for a $6 million-$7 million four-day opening.

As for ‘About My Father’, which stars Robert DeNiro, the film is set for a $5.5 million opening.