Snow White didn't get off to the best of starts when it opened in theaters this past weekend. The movie fell short of expectations in North America with a $42.2 million haul, and despite estimates pointing to a $100 million global debut, it earned only $86.1 million.
While numbers like that wouldn't usually be considered a decent start for a movie aimed at women and girls, The Hollywood Reporter explains that Snow White's $370 million budget - $270 million went on production and $100 million on marketing - is putting it squarely in "flop" territory.
The budget rocketed as a result of COVID protocols, 2023's strikes, a fire on set, and "creative concerns that required additional work." In other words, the reshoots which took place last year following backlash to various plot leaks and set photos.
The trade expects it to struggle to reach $300 million - $400 million when all is said and done, and it needs at least $500 million to be in with a chance of breaking even.
It's worth noting that when Mufasa: The Lion King opened to $35.4 million domestically last Christmas, it too was written off as a flop before ultimately grossing $718 million worldwide. However, with so much negativity surrounding Snow White (it has a B+ CinemaScore, a record low for these live-action adaptations), a repeat of that holiday miracle seems unlikely.
Interestingly, despite all the continued online controversy surrounding stars Rachel Zegler and, to a lesser extent, Gal Gadot, "A poll conducted by Steve Buck’s research firm EnTelligence [revealed] 63 percent of ticket sales for family and animated films generally come from blue states, while 37 percent come from cinemas in red states. In the case of Snow White, it overindexed in red states at 40 percent."
"The pattern for general audience followed the same trajectory. Cinemas in blue states generally account for 67 percent of all ticket sales, while red states account for 33 percent. In the case of Snow White, blue states came in behind the norm at 60 percent of all sales, while red states accounted for 40 percent," the report adds, dismissing the notion that Zegler's anti-Trump comments sparked a boycott.
A separate report from Variety explains that one point of contention between her and Disney was a "free Palestine" remark she shared on X alongside the movie's trailer at D23 last year.
A Disney executive took their concerns to Zegler's team, and producer Marc Platt flew to New York to speak with the West Side Story star. She stood her ground and refused to make any changes, all while Gadot was given additional security amid death threats.
"She didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone," one insider told the trade.
When Zegler followed that up with the aforementioned post about Trump, Disney reached the end of its tether and, following another meeting with Platt, she started working with a "social media guru" to vet her online activity.
There's reportedly no hard feelings between Zegler and Gadot, though the former's relationship with Disney is not good. She's been clashing with the House of Mouse since butting heads with the studio over her being able to attend the Oscars for West Side Story when work on Snow White began.
"You can’t say that a live-action remake of the most iconic film in the vault that cost [$270] million and has been reshot multiple times opening to $50 million is OK," an executive at a rival studio states. "The math does not work. That movie should be a billion-dollar movie."
Box office analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations added, "They say all press is good press, but in ‘Snow White’s’ case, they were unabashedly wrong. Too much negative controversy surrounded this film for years, and it didn’t help that the reviews were subpar, likely rendering this latest live-action adventure to D+ for many potential ticket buyers."
Snow White is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Toonado.com for the latest Disney updates.