After enchanting audiences around the world, ‘The Little Mermaid’ made a big splash on Disney+ on the weekend.

The live-action reimagining of the studio’s Academy Award-winning animated musical starring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy is the most viewed Disney movie premiere on Disney+ since ‘Hocus Pocus 2’, garnering 16 million views in its first five days streaming, the Mouse House said in a media statement.

Its success on Disney+ globally (including Disney+Hotstar in India) follows a strong theatrical run this summer. The movie, which was directed by Rob Marshall and opened over Memorial Day weekend to $118.6 million in North America, was one of the top five highest-grossing films of the summer in the US domestically with nearly $300 million.

‘The Little Mermaid’, which also stars Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs, and Awkwafina, is also among 2023’s top ten films worldwide to date, earning $570 million at the global box office.

The film was praised by audiences who gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, Disney said on its website.

2023’s The Little Mermaid builds on the incredible legacy of the original 1989 classic, continuing to bring the story to life through a treasure trove of merchandising, parks and resorts attractions, video games, books, and theater productions for millions of fans around the world.

The release of the live action ‘The Little Mermaid’ has also given a boost to Disney’s existing library resulting in tremendous engagement for the animated films on Disney+.

Disney has clarified that a view is defined as total stream time divided by runtime.