Disney’s live-action remake of their 1992 animated classic "Aladdin" has overcome quite the gauntlet of vitriol from its detractors by having a successful opening last week. Greatly helping its initial box office earning is the fact that it ran over a four-day US opening weekend thanks to Memorial Day.

The new "Aladdin" Live-action film is going to need that and the gross from overseas to establish a solid foundation for the rest of its cinematic run. That would serve as vindication for all the online criticism it has endured during the months leading to its premiere.

Disney can hope.

Memorial Day weekend success

As of Monday, May 27, Disney’s "Aladdin" remake made $113 million on its stateside premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter That is a good sign already for getting past the predicted high-mark for its opening weekend of a flat $100 million. Once more, this can be chalked up to Memorial Day giving the movie an extra segment of the weekend to work its magic with the audience of returning fans and a new generation of viewers. This positive response by moviegoers also contrasts to the more mixed reviews by professional critics, who, while praising the performances of lead stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott, found the end product inferior to the 1992 original.

‘Aladdin’ is also helping to restore confidence in Disney’s determined direction of making live-action versions of its animated canon. Past offerings such as “Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and more, have been steady successes during their premieres. However, the Tim Burton-directed “Dumbo,” which arrived in theaters last March, was a significant drop in critic reviews and box-office performance.

This "Aladdin" movie, Disney’s latest offering directed by Guy Ritchie, looks set to power through the bad press about its casting and production quality to make money domestically and abroad.

Global earnings also good

The now timeless Disney' take of the "Arabian Nights" story about a street thief, a brave princess, an evil sorcerer vizier and a pop culture-savvy genie of the lamp is also making a live-action splash around the world on its first weekend.

The top three international territories for "Aladdin" are China ($18.7 million), Mexico ($9.2 million) and the UK ($8.4 million). The combined overseas gross of $123.2 million added with the US earnings adds up to a respectable $214.7 million total.

During the "Aladdin" world premiere in Los Angeles, actor Will Smith, who plays the Genie, remarked that the big challenge for the Disney production team with remaking the animation was to make the adaptation both familiar and new simultaneously. Smith also made an oblique reference to his CGI rendering as the magical Genie, which was initially lambasted in teasers before it was revealed that he would split his screen-time in genie form and in human guise (played live by himself).

Disney’s "Aladdin" is showing in cinemas worldwide.
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