Pretty much as soon as Rachel Zegler was cast as Snow White, the “manosphere” and racist/misogynist-cult sharpened their knives for Disney’s live-action version of the Disney classic. What was unfortunate is that I think many people who don’t even align with the cult of racism/misogyny thought the live-action version sounded stupid and like a really bad idea. But Disney did it anyway and the film opened at #1 this weekend. It’s considered a pretty weak #1 though, because it didn’t even meet box-office analysts’ soft projections.
Trouble is a brewin’ for the controversy-laden Snow White, the live-action remake of the iconic 1937 animated film that put Walt Disney‘s film empire on the map.
The big-budget tentpole opened to $43 million domestically, enough for a first-place finish but behind even the most modest of expectations after getting battered by so-so audience scores and underwhelming reviews. That’s even less than Tim Burton’s Dumbo, which came in at $45 million in 2019. Overseas, Snow White took in $44.3 million for a global launch of $87.3 million after hoping to clear $100 million.
The good news: The $250 million production still had no trouble winning the weekend and will have no competition until Warner Bros.’ kid-friendly A Minecraft Movie opens April 4. Moreover, the female-skewing film is hoping to emulate the pace and tempo of Disney’s Christmas tentpole Mufasa: The Lion King, which debuted to $35 million on its way to sprinting past $700 million globally.
Starring Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Snow White had been tracking to open to just north of $50 million, although Disney had been conservative in putting out a range of $45 million to $55 million. Even at $43 million, it is the second-biggest opening of the year to date behind fellow Marvel/Disney tentpole Captain America: Brave New World, which placed No. 3 in its sixth weekend with $4.1 million as it cleared the $400 million mark globally, including a domestic cume of $192.1 million. (All told, Disney lays claim to 35 percent of all 2025 box office revenue.)
In terms of other Disney live-action princess remakes, Beauty and the Beast astounded when opening to $174.6 million domestically in mid-March 2017, not adjusted for inflation. In the spring of 2015, Cinderella debuted to $67.9 million domestically; Maleficent launched to $69 million in May 2014 (the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, stalled at $37 million).
THR also notes that Snow White is probably the least well-known Disney princess for women under the age of 45, which I think is probably true – there’s a reason why women and girls flocked to the live-action versions of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid – because those were films a lot of women grew up with and wanted to introduce their daughters to. In any case, it looks like the domestic audience isn’t into Snow White, but Disney is counting on the international audience to make this profitable.
Other box office notes: it was apparently a terrible opening for The Alto Knights, “one of the first movies greenlit by David Zaslav after Warner Bros. Discovery was formed in 2022.” It opened with $3 million, lol. Jonathan Majors’ big “comeback” project Magazine Dreams didn’t even crack $1 million in its 800-theater debut.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Disney’s IG.
