Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Bombs, On Pace For One Of Company’s Worst Box Office Showings

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After years of build-up and hundreds of millions of dollars spent on promotion, Disney’s “Snow White” live-action remake starring Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler is on pace for one of the company’s worst box office offerings ever.

As of Friday, the remake of the 1937 classic had raked in just $15.5 million across 4,200 North American theaters, including $3.5 million from Thursday night’s previews, Deadline reported. Overall, the film is on pace for just $45 million in sales over its opening weekend, an astonishingly low figure considering its massive budget.

As of this report, “Snow White” is on pace with Disney’s live-action “Dumbo” remake that was released in 2019. The film, which was directed by Tim Burton, was a certified box office bomb that pulled in $46 million over its opening weekend. Costs for “Dumbo” topped out at $170 million, however, while “Snow White” cost $270 million after multiple reshoots and a massive marketing campaign that fizzled out early.

Disney will be holding out hope that the latest film can top December’s live-action “Mufasa: The Lion King” remake, which pulled in just $35.4 million in December after another aggressive marketing campaign.

The disappointing box office haul is not unexpected, as the film’s success has largely been written off since lead actress Rachel Zegler trashed the original film in 2023. “It’s no longer 1937,” Zegler told the reporters, to which her co-star Gal Gadot agreed. “She’s not gonna be saved by the prince,” Gadot emphasized.

“She’s not gonna be saved by the prince and she’s not gonna be dreaming about ‘true love,’ she’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”

Creators also drew controversy by moving away from the iconic seven dwarves, arguing that using actual little people was ableist and offensive. In place of the dwarves, the film initially utilized a hodgepodge of bizarre-looking characters who are different heights and races. Disney later made changes to the original plan for the dwarves after backlash.

The chemistry between the two A-list actresses did not last, however, as the two found themselves on opposite sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Tensions reportedly rose between the two during the film’s promotional tour, as Zegler posted a “Free Palestine” message the day the film’s full-length trailer released back in December. Gadot, who was born in Israel and served in the IDF, has long expressed support for her native country.

Box office analyst Valiant Renegade stated at the time that Zegler’s comments had doomed the movie before it ever had a chance to take root and likely had Disney executives fuming.

While Disney has had some truly massive bombs on its hands over the last several years — the most notable being “Lightyear” and “Elemental” — the box office analyst believes “Snow White” could prove to be one of the company’s most expensive bombs yet.

“Here’s the bottom-line problem folks; the ‘Barbie’ movie from Mattel and Warner Brothers right now is doing numbers that the ‘Little Mermaid’ should have done several months ago but it didn’t. It’s probably gonna finish with about three times as much box office as the ‘Little Mermaid’ did and that’s a shame for Disney. I don’t think ‘Snow White’ is going to be any better,”  the box office analyst said back in 2023.

While “The Little Mermaid” failed to turn a profit due to another massive budget, its opening weekend numbers more than doubled those of “Snow White” with a solid $95 million haul. Opening weekend for “The Little Mermaid” is projected to out-pace the entire theatrical haul for “Snow White.”

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