During Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, fans were thrilled when a teaser clip of the live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” aired, causing a frenzy among viewers.
The two-minute-long trailer debuted on stage at the Dolby Theatre when stars Melissa McCarthy and Halle Bailey presented it.
The clip cost a whopping $10 million, according to IndieWire, which is much higher than the cost of a 30-second spot that typically runs between $1.6 million and $2.1 million.
Although ABC is a flagship property of Disney, the house of mouse actually paid the network $10 million to show “The Little Mermaid” ad spot during the Oscars.
“Actual money actually changed hands,” the outlet reported, with a source saying that media companies are generally treated like “church and state.”
Disney sold all of its ad spots for between $1.6 million and $2.1 million, with “The Little Mermaid” using five 30-second spots for the trailer, which explains why it cost about three times as much for the Oscars spot, an insider told IndieWire.
Several brands, including Pfizer, Sony, Starbucks, Rolex, and Verizon, bought commercials during the 2023 Academy Awards.
In addition, Morgan Freeman and Margot Robbie presented a 90-second Warner Bros. ad spot celebrating the studio’s 100-year anniversary, which sources said cost only $3 million.
While viewers at home saw the trailer featuring McCarthy as Ursula and Bailey as Ariel, the audience present at the Dolby Theatre didn’t actually see the clip, the outlet reported.
Guests who attended the show said that the broadcast cut to a commercial break instead of showing the full video, which confused many attendees.
This year’s Oscars reached about 18.7 million viewers and even saw a boost in ratings for the first time in three years, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting.
»Disney Pays $10 Million for “The Little Mermaid” Trailer During Academy Awards Broadcast«
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