I feel like it’s time for the live-action remake experiment to come to an end. Disney wants to pair a change in the stories that no one asked for with continued baffling casting decisions and all for a product that most people don’t care about. Enough.
But people DO care about them. They have made a LOT of money making them - amny have been absolute smash hits. If the audience didn't show up they would stop. Now, TLM was a little softer than some of the previous ones, though that may be attributable to general post-pandemic decline in theater attendance. Now, personally, I don't care much for them, but clearly there is an audience out there.
Just for some reference:
Maleficent (2014): $758.5M
Cinderella (2015): $542.4M
The Jungle Book (2016): $966.6M
Beauty and the Beast (2017):
$1.266B
Dumbo (2019): $353.3M
Alladin (2019):
$1.054B
The Lion King (2019):
$1.663B
Mulan (2020): $69.9M (COVID)
The Little Mermaid (2023): $569.6M
So, other than Dumbo, which didn't do that well and Mulan which was had limited release due to COVID and was released on premium streaming, those movies have all done pretty well. Three of them did over a billion dollars at the box-office, with The Jungle Book just shy.
THIS is why they continue to make them!