‘Snow White’ Grosses $143M, But Disney’s $350M Gamble Is Looking More Like a Disaster

Disney’s latest live-action remake, Snow White, is shaping up to be a financial snowstorm, which is just not the kind the studio was hoping for. Despite a global box office haul of $143 million, the film is still drowning under the weight of its jaw-dropping $350 million budget (yes, you read that right). With a lackluster second-weekend performance and a series of controversies that have haunted its release, Snow White may be one of Disney’s most expensive mistakes in recent years.

A Box Office Flop in the Making?

Opening weekend numbers are usually a strong indicator of a film’s long-term success, and Snow White came in… well, not exactly dazzling. The film pulled in $87.3 million worldwide, missing Disney’s expected $100 million debut. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the second weekend saw a brutal 66% drop in domestic earnings, bringing in a dismal $14.2 million.

To make matters even more humiliating, Snow White lost its number one spot to Jason Statham’s mid-budget thriller, A Working Man, which made $15.2 million. Imagine getting beat by Statham doing construction work. Embarrassing.

A $350 Million Price Tag: What Was Disney Thinking?

Let’s talk about that budget. Snow White reportedly cost between $240 million and $269.4 million to produce. Factor in marketing and promotional costs, and estimates suggest Disney has spent around $350 million on this film.

To even think about breaking even, Snow White would need to gross at least $480 million to $538 million globally. With its current trajectory, those numbers look about as achievable as making a wish in a well and expecting it to come true.

Controversies and Backlash: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Oh, but the money problems aren’t the only thing dragging this film down. The Snow White remake has been plagued by controversy from the start, and it seems like audiences are making their displeasure known at the box office.

Casting Drama and Rachel Zegler’s PR Disaster

• The decision to cast Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress, as Snow White stirred up backlash from purists who felt the role should reflect the original German fairytale.
• Zegler’s pre-release interviews didn’t help, either. She openly criticized the 1937 original, called the Prince’s storyline “creepy,” and emphasized that her Snow White would be a “leader” rather than a love story. Fans did not take that well.
• As a result, social media was flooded with calls to boycott the film, with critics branding Zegler as ungrateful and dismissive of Disney’s animated legacy.
• Rachel Zegler also stood tall for her support for Palestine which had studio executives upset.

The Seven Dwarfs Debacle

• Disney initially replaced the classic seven dwarfs with a diverse group of “magical creatures” (whatever that means).
• After facing massive backlash, the studio scrambled to quietly add CGI dwarfs back into later promotional material, which was a bizarre, last-minute pivot that only made things worse.

Gal Gadot’s Awkward Performance and Backlash

• While Gal Gadot was one of the few elements of the film that audiences were initially excited for, her over-the-top, cartoonish performance as the Evil Queen was widely panned.
• Critics have described her acting as unintentionally hilarious, cringeworthy, and more fitting for a campy B-movie villain than a Disney blockbuster.
• Some fans even noted that her thick Israeli accent clashed with the film’s setting, making her line delivery even more distracting.

But the backlash didn’t stop with her performance. Gadot, a vocal supporter of Israel, found herself embroiled in even more controversy. Some fans, already angry about the film’s direction, began calling for a boycott not just because of her acting but because of her political views, with her Zionist beliefs sparking anger in certain parts of the audience. The situation worsened as the release unfolded, and Gadot’s political leanings only added fuel to the fire of an already divisive film.

Between Zegler’s disastrous press tour, the dwarfs’ identity crisis, and Gadot’s performance and controversial views, Snow White became less of a fairytale and more of a corporate nightmare.

Zegler’s “#1 Movie” Celebration: A Bit Premature?

Despite all the negative press, Rachel Zegler took to social media to celebrate the film’s opening, calling it the “#1 movie in the world.”

Technically, she wasn’t wrong; it did open at #1 domestically on its first weekend. But considering the film underperformed expectations and is now getting crushed by a Jason Statham movie about carpentry, her victory lap might’ve been a bit premature.

Can ‘Snow White’ Recover?

At this point, Snow White would need a miracle to turn things around. The film is still rolling out in some international markets, but given its current box office performance, it’s unlikely to reach the numbers needed to avoid a financial disaster.

So, what does this mean for Disney? Well, after a string of underwhelming live-action remakes (The Little Mermaid struggled, and Peter Pan & Wendy flopped on Disney+), Snow White might be the final nail in the coffin for the studio’s obsession with remaking animated classics. If audiences continue to reject these reboots, maybe, just maybe, Disney will get the hint and start focusing on original stories again.

But let’s be real: that’s probably wishful thinking.