Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ tops ‘Fast & Furious’ at French box office

It’s a good start for The little Mermaid from Disney. The live-action version ranks first in the French box office in its first week in theaters.

The Adventures of Ariel, starring Halle Bailey in the title role and Javier Bardem as her father, drew 582,814 moviegoers in 578 theaters, which was the director’s second-best performance after Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), with 1.6 million admissions in the first week.

The last installment of the saga Fast & Furious slipped to second place with 514,473 spectators in 753 theaters and reached a total of 1.6 million admissions for its second week of operation.

The 1989 cartoon remake is still set near a fictional Caribbean island in the 1830s. Ariel (played by Halle Bailey), an 18-year-old mermaid, is the youngest of seven daughters of King Triton (Javier Bardem ) who rules the oceans from his underwater kingdom. The young girl has always admired the human world, to the point of accepting a terrible pact with her aunt, the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy).

Two French films at the box office

The leading trio ends with the third episode of Guardians of the Galaxy, from the Marvel universe, which brought together 305,098 spectators in 839 theaters for its fourth week. This feature film tops the ranking of action films in 2023 with 2.9 million admissions.

Love and Forests with Virginie Efira, presented at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, is the second newcomer to enter the top 10 and ranks fourth with 220,327 admissions.

For its second week in theaters, Jeanne du Barry directed by Maïwenn with Johnny Depp, records 156,279 entries (557,460 in two weeks) and thus takes fifth place in the French ranking.