This weekend, Walt Disney Co.’s most recent live-action remake of” Snow White” debuted at the box office, which was more of a “ho-hum” than a “heigh-ho.”
The film, starring Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen and Rachel Zegler as the mythical lady, debuted in the U.S. and Canada to a disappointing$ 43 million in ticket sales, placing it in first position at the local field company, based on workshop estimates. According to analyst and pre-sale ticket estimates,” Snow White” was anticipated to bring in between$ 45 million and$ 55 million in its opening weekend.
In order to break even, the movie will need to do a lot of business in the upcoming week. Before marketing expenses, it cost an estimated$ 250 million. For a total global debut of$ 87 million, the film made$ 44 million overseas.
The opening number for” Snow White” is lower than Tim Burton’s remake of” Dumbo” in 2019, which earned$ 353 million worldwide and was viewed as a letdown.
The box company has had a slower first quarter. According to analysts, there has been a decline but much compared to results from last year. The first-quarter box office results are likely to be lower than the same moment period a year ago, which were already considerably lower than the pre-pandemic average.
Although the first quarter of 2024 saw blockbuster hits like” Dune: Part Two” and” Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” both of which earned at least$ 80 million in their opening weekends.
According to Daniel Loria, senior vice president at the Boxoffice Co., which tracks theatrical data,” to say that the stakes for” Snow White” are only on Disney ignores the fact that this entire industry was anticipating a better first quarter. We must end this month with the best possible word.
The road to” Snow White “‘s opening weekend was a difficult one.
After Zegler, who is of Brazilian and Polish origin, was announced as the direct character, the movie received a lot of prejudiced backlash. Therefore, devoted admirers of the film criticized her for claiming that the new movie would release tropes from the first 1937 animated video, including the reliance on Snow White’s love with Prince Charming.
The movie has also been questioned about its portrayal of small persons and the perspectives of its leading players on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Zegler has been an outspoken activist for Palestinians, while Gadot has voiced her support for Israel, where she was born.
How much of the physical conflict surrounding the movie played into its opening weekend results is a mystery.
However, Disney’s plan to mine its animated film collection for live-action sequels is ineffective. A live-action type of” Lilo &, Stitch” will be available from the Burbank media and entertainment business in May.
The sequels are a kind of risk-management program because they retell well-known stories while also giving Disney a chance to change some of the controversial elements of the original animated films, such as giving some of the princes more freedom and diversifying the casts.
Disney can also draw viewers ‘ attention to these characters by updating the first animated movies. The organization can then promote brand-new live-action products and generate new audiences for the figures.
According to Peter Kunze, a professor of communication at Tulane University and the author of” Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance,” that is also true of other aspects of Disney’s enormous empire, including theme parks, streaming services, and Broadway plays.
By producing these live-action remakes, he said, “it sort of acts like a charger to the franchise.” The movie’s “dependence on different aspects of the company” often extends to these other aspects of the company’s revenue streams, not just the dramatic distribution income stream.
These movies may make a lot of money, despite critics ‘ complaints about the speed of live-action remakes versus the original stories. The 2017″ Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than$ 1 billion worldwide, as did 2010’s” Alice in Wonderland”, 2019’s” The Lion King”, and 2019’s” Aladdin”.
Even if the opening weekend is gradual, these movies can still have a longer neck with viewers. For instance,” Snow White” is coming at a time when many kids will be taking spring break, which means stressed parents may be looking for activities for their kids.
With Warner Bros. Pictures ‘” A Minecraft Movie” only two months away, there is little competition in the family film industry right now. Sony in the U.S. distributed” Paddington in Peru,” and Universal Pictures ‘” Dog Man” were both released weeks ago.
The Lion King, the film from last year, opened in December for a so-so$ 35 million internally, but it ended up grossing more than$ 717 million at the global box office. Family movies does take a while to create a sensation, and frequently don’t have the same kind of fans who clamor to see them in cinemas as soon as possible, Loria said.
He said,” This trip will just tell us a small portion of Snow White’s account,” The real evaluation of a film’s efficiency is in the three, four, and five weeks.
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