“The Little Mermaid” is the most streamed film premiere on Disney+

Disney has proudly declared that its latest remake of The little mermaid garnered 16 million views within its first five days on Disney+, with “views” defined by total stream time divided by the film’s running time. According to the company, the live-action musical starring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy is now the streaming service’s most-watched film premiere since then Hocus Pocus 2 At the end of last year.

Cinema release on May 26th. The little mermaid is a live-action reimagining of the 1989 film of the same name with new songs and tweaked lyrics. Disney’s appeal to nostalgia has already paid off at the box office The little mermaid During its run, it earned $570 million worldwide. This makes it one of the highest-grossing films in 2023 so far.

Now it seems that popularity has been reflected in Disney+’s streaming numbers, no doubt due in part to millions of children enchanted by life beneath the CGI sea.

Disney has historically been tight-lipped when it comes to streaming viewership numbers, typically declining to share data on its original productions. However, the House of Mouse appears willing to change this policy if the numbers are impressive enough – and possibly to attract potential advertisers.

While Disney+ was ad-free at launch, the introduction of an ad-supported tier last December has likely made the company more receptive to the idea of ​​sharing its streaming numbers, or at least the good ones. Last month, Disney announced the release of the first episode of its original war of stars series Ahsoka With 14 million views, it was the streaming service’s most popular series the week it premiered. There were no such happy announcements after Disney+ premiered in April Peter Pan and Wendy.

The release of these numbers also brings to the forefront the ongoing strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

One of the issues that drove the strikes was the demand for a better allocation of the remaining stocks from streamed productions. In particular, both unions have called for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to establish audience-based residuals to allow writers and performers to participate in the success of popular productions. The WGA also specifically called for “transparency regarding program views.” The AMPTP has rejected these demands.

However, Disney’s statement is of The little mermaid‘s popularity is a reminder that the company could very easily publish the numbers striking writers are demanding – if it wanted to.