Part 3/10:
The film’s international box office numbers provide stark evidence that the narrative of racism as the primary obstacle is flawed. For example, in China, The Little Mermaid grossed only around $3.6 million in its first ten days—an abysmally low figure for a Disney live-action remake. South Korea saw similar struggles, earning just over $4 million by early June.
Contrastingly, films with Black lead characters such as Black Panther performed exceptionally well in these markets—in China, Black Panther earned over $100 million, and in South Korea, it brought in more than $40 million. If racial bias were the main factor, one would expect similar underperformance, but the data suggests otherwise.