Actor Mena Massoud, known for playing the titular thief-turned-prince in Disney's live-action Aladdin remake, recently removed his Twitter account after coming under fire from fans of The Little Mermaid owing to what appeared to be a criticism of the unreleased film.
Massoud's Twitter account and his tweets are no longer available for viewing. However, outlets such as TMZ captured the posts, which show the Aladdin star appeared to criticize The Little Mermaid in response to a report comparing the upcoming film's projected opening box office take and that of 2019's Aladdin. Massoud wrote, "Our film was unique in that audiences went to watch it multiple times. It's the only way we reached the billion dollar mark with our opening. My guess is [The Little Mermaid] doesn't cross the billion mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel."
Disney's Live-Action Aladdin
Aladdin earned approximately $116 million over its Memorial Day opening weekend before ultimately grossing a worldwide total of $1.05 billion, becoming the third film of 2019 to reach the milestone, behind Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel.
Directed by Guy Ritchie, Aladdin starred Will Smith as Genie, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar and Navid Negahban as the Sultan of Agrabah, Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, alongside Massoud's Aladdin. The film itself received mixed reviews upon release, with critics and audiences praising the attempt at matching the animated feature film's sense of spectacle, as well as Smith's performance as Genie, but criticized the lack of a compelling Jafar and Ritchie's direction.
The Little Mermaid Swims to Screens
The Little Mermaid, meanwhile, is currently projected to gross roughly $122 million, according to Box Office Pro. However, it should be noted this is on the higher end of estimates over a 4-day opening. The live-action Disney film has already earned positive reactions from test screenings, with reports suggesting test-screening viewers praised actor Melissa McCarthy's portrayal of Ursula. Those early reactions also described the song featured in the film as "hit-and-miss."
Audiences have gotten a glimpse of a few of the songs from The Little Mermaid. One recently dropped clip teased the iconic "Part of Your World," performed by star Halle Bailey. In addition, the clip suggested that Ariel's reasons for leaving the ocean has gotten a modern update-- something that Bailey herself previously teased in past interviews.
The Little Mermaid swims into theaters on May 26. Aladdin is available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: TMZ, Box Office Pro