Summary
- Disney’s Snow White live-action remake may have a lower opening box office compared to past remakes.
- The film faces backlash but has the potential for long-term success based on examples like Maleficent and The Lion King prequel.
- Despite concerns and criticisms, Snow White’s box office projections don’t suggest it’s doomed to flop.
Disney’s Snow White live-action remake starring Rachel Zegler and Wonder Woman‘s Gal Gadot will be released in theaters next month. Box office projections for the film are now out, and there are reasons to be concerned and optimistic.
Disney‘s Snow White is the latest in the company’s long line of live-action remakes of its animated classics. Besides notable exceptions like Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book or Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, most moviegoers have hated Disney’s live-action remakes and often criticize them for being soulless shot-for-shot replications of the originals. Despite these complaints, Disney could generally expect box office success from these remakes, although recent entries like The Little Mermaid proved this was far from guaranteed. Now, box office projections for Disney’s Snow White indicate it could open on the lower end of the company’s live-action remakes, but that doesn’t necessarily spell doom.
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Per Deadline, Quorum reports that Disney’s Snow White is on track for a $63-$70 million 3-day opening weekend at the domestic box office, with “other sources” predicting $65 million. For leading star Zegler, who plays the eponymous Disney princess, this would amount to her best domestic opening yet, with The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes currently holding the record for her highest domestic debut with $44.6 million. However, it’s a far cry from the domestic opening weekend totals of Disney’s more successful live-action remakes such as 2019’s The Lion King, which opened with $191.77 million, and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, which debuted with $174.7 million. Both remakes ultimately grossed over $1 billion worldwide each.
If Quorum’s box office tracking numbers hold, Snow White will open behind 2023’s The Little Mermaid live-action remake. The latter debuted domestically on the Memorial Day Weekend with $95.6 million over 3 three-days and $118.8 million over the four-day frame. This was considered a disappointing box office debut, and despite grossing $569.6 million worldwide, the live-action The Little Mermaid remake is widely regarded as a flop because of its high production budget and marketing cost. These expenses mean The Little Mermaid generated relatively low profits, but some sources claim the film lost money for Disney.
Despite these comparisons, there is reason to be optimistic. Maleficent opened domestically with $69.4 million and earned $758.5 million worldwide, enough to merit a sequel, though the second film reportedly failed to gross enough money to profit. More recently, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel centering on the early years of Mufasa and Scar, stunned many people when it opened alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and placed second with $35.4 million. However, Mufasa: The Lion King‘s box office fortunes turned around in the ensuing weeks, eventually outgrossing Sonic 3 with $671.1 million worldwide. Perhaps Snow White could have similar long-term box office success despite opening weekend numbers being on the lower end.
Snow White may have some work to do to earn the audience’s money. Right-wing critics have targeted the film for merely casting Zegler as Snow White and were further enraged when the actress criticized the original animated film. However, there are legitimate concerns about the film, particularly after the first Snow White trailer was released to much criticism primarily directed toward the CG dwarfs. Still, the box office projections don’t indicate the film is doomed to flop, which may be reason enough to rest easy given the current reputation of Disney’s live-action remakes.
Disney’s Snow White releases in theaters on March 21, 2025.
Disney’s Snow White
- Release Date
-
March 19, 2025
- Director
-
Marc Webb
- Writers
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Erin Cressida Wilson, Greta Gerwig
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Source: Deadline