Snow White’s Massive Budget Revealed, And It Dwarfs Most of Disney’s Live-Action Remakes

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As a movie critic with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that Disney’s live-action Snow White seems to be going for the gold (or rather, the red) with its hefty budget of $240 million. It’s a bold move, especially considering the box office performance of recent live-action adaptations.

Let’s ponder: just how high will Disney’s budget scale for their live-action Snow White remake? Starring Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as the titular character and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) as the jealous Queen, this production might surpass all other studio remakes in terms of cost when considering marketing and distribution expenses. As reported by Variety, the re-interpretation of 1937’s animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has a production budget of $240 million, placing it among the pricier adaptations.

To put it another way, it’s roughly equal in cost to the production budget for last summer’s The Little Mermaid movie, which earned an impressive $569 million worldwide on a budget of just $240 million.

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As a passionate film enthusiast, I’ve got to share some fascinating insights about upcoming Disney productions! Unlike the 2017 blockbuster “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson and the 2019 computer-generated remake of “The Lion King”, these movies had hefty price tags. Disney invested a whopping $255 million in the former and another $260 million on the latter, without considering prints and advertising costs. The total cost of “The Lion King” was an astounding $621 million, according to Deadline, which reported a net profit of $580 million after raking in a staggering $1.65 billion at the global box office.

The 2010 adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, a film that kick-started Disney’s contemporary reboots after earning over $1 billion, had production costs ranging from $150 to $200 million. In contrast, the 2020 “Mulan” was produced for approximately $200 million. Movies with budgets under $200 million include “The Jungle Book” (2016) at $175 million, “Dumbo” and “Aladdin” (both 2019) at $170 million and $183 million respectively, and the upcoming “Pinocchio” (2022) priced at $150 million, all of which were released exclusively on Disney+. The 2021 film “Cruella” was made for $100 million, while the 2019 “Lady and the Tramp” remake, also a Disney+ original, had a production cost of $60 million.

Typically, blockbuster films (tentpoles) must earn roughly 2.5 times their production costs to cover all expenses and turn a profit. For the upcoming Disney film Snow White, this figure would equate to approximately $600 million. However, achieving this might be challenging given that no live-action Disney remake has grossed that amount since the summer of 2019, when both Aladdin and The Lion King surpassed it with earnings of $1.05 billion and $1.65 billion worldwide.

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Disney plans to release “Mufasa: The Lion King” against Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” on December 20, followed by a live-action version of “Snow White” on March 21, 2025, and another live-action film titled “Lilo & Stitch” on May 23. The studio has begun working on the remake of “Moana,” with Dwayne Johnson playing the live-action Maui character.

In a new take, Marc Webb, who is known for “The Amazing Spider-Man”, will direct the film adaptation of “Snow White”. Greta Gerwig, from “Barbie” and Erin Cressida Wilson, of “The Girl on the Train”, have penned the screenplay. The musical reinterpretation is produced by Marc Platt, famed for “La La Land”, and Jared LeBoff, known for “Wicked”. This fresh version will boast original songs created by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, composers of Disney’s “Aladdin” and “The Greatest Showman”.

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2024-12-05 05:09