Disney's Snow White Box Office Projections Look Grim

Disney’s live-action Snow White remake is projected to have a relatively low debut at U.S. cinemas, according to early box office forecasts. Quorum, an industry tracker, predicts the movie will earn between $63-$70 million during its opening weekend, while other sources suggest a slightly higher figure of $65 million.

Although this opening would set a new record for Rachel Zegler’s domestic movie launches, outperforming her $44.6 million debut in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, it falls short of the box office successes Disney has previously achieved with its blockbuster films.

Compared to other Disney live-action remakes, the box office numbers for Snow White seem less impressive. For instance, The Little Mermaid earned only $95.6 million domestically in its opening weekend and was still deemed financially underperforming. On the other hand, The Lion King (2019) and Beauty and the Beast (2017), both live-action remakes by Disney, had a more successful start with $191.77 million and $174.7 million respectively, and eventually surpassed the billion-dollar mark globally. In contrast, Snow White’s projected box office earnings put it in the same league as Maleficent (2014), which opened at $69.4 million and grossed $758.5 million worldwide. However, it’s worth noting that Maleficent’s sequel failed to turn a profit.

The poor reception of the movie Snow White is not only about its box office performance; it’s also due to significant marketing blunders over the past two years and an escalating negative response from viewers. Both trailers for the film have been met with strong disapproval on YouTube, with the initial trailer garnering 1.5 million dislikes compared to only 101,478 likes, and the official trailer receiving 1,015,508 dislikes versus 40,530 likes. Even a special Christmas Day sneak peek of Zegler’s song Waiting on a Wish failed to win over viewers, amassing 45,000 dislikes compared to just 4,875 likes.

The growing indifference towards the movie has been intensified by its lead actress’s contentious reputation. Rachel Zegler has distanced herself from viewers with her series of provocative remarks and unpredictable actions. Zegler has publicly criticized the 1937 Snow White film as outdated and misogynistic, and further stirred up controversy by using the movie’s trailer launch to express her political views, including support for Palestine. She also made disrespectful comments about Donald Trump and his supporters after the 2024 U.S. election. Zegler’s post-election statement, “may Trump and his supporters never know peace,” drew strong criticism and led to a public apology that some believe lacked authenticity.

The film’s troubles are compounded by its skyrocketing production cost, which is said to have reached over $300 million due to reshoots. Disney chose to revamp the representation of the Seven Dwarfs, swapping them for a diverse cast of actors who aren’t dwarves, following criticism from Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame. He argued that portraying dwarves as actual dwarves could be seen as offensive.

Initially, Disney rejected the authenticity of the leaked photographs, but subsequently acknowledged that they accurately depicted an early design which was discarded due to public criticism. This led to the creation of the seven CGI characters that are now infamous in the entertainment industry.

Rachel Zegler’s past box office performance casts doubt over her upcoming film, Snow White. The latest production she was involved in, Y2K, flopped at the box office with a disappointing $4.2 million total earnings. The mix of her declining popularity and lackluster interest in the project has resulted in a marketing predicament. In fact, a string of viral parody videos poking fun at the movie by synchronizing harsh audience comments to music have surpassed the film’s trailers in viewer engagement.

Currently, it appears that “Snow White” is heading towards both disappointing ticket sales and the least favorable scenario: indifference from audiences. Unlike previous Disney flops such as “The Little Mermaid,” which generated discussion due to controversy, “Snow White” seems to be losing the struggle for significance altogether. Given its substantial budget and dwindling public engagement, Disney might be bracing for one of its most devastating box office catastrophes in recent memory.

2025-02-13 20:55

Disney’s Snow White Box Office Projections Look Grim

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