Lilo and Stitch has proven that there's still plenty of life in Disney's live-action remakes of animated classics, but the recent reimagining of one of the Mouse House's most popular and well-known tales was a rare misfire.
Snow White arrives on Disney+ tomorrow, and has officially finished up its box office run as one of Disney's worst performing live-action remakes.
The movie, which stars Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, ended its theatrical run with $205.5 million worldwide. Only 2016's Pete's Dragon ($143.7 million and 2020's Mulan ($69.9 million) - which, to be fair, debuted during COVID with a simultaneous Premier Access streaming release - have fared worse.
Snow White received mostly negative reviews (40% on Rotten Tomatoes), but was plagued by controversy (whether it was warranted or not is up for debate) in the build-up to its release, which probably didn't help.
Be it Zegler's comments about the animated original, Gadot's support of Israel, or the perception that Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage ended up costing people of short stature jobs with his "Dwarfs in caves" dismissal of the story, it's clear that this movie was going to have its work cut out to avoid becoming box office poison.
If you skipped Snow White in theatres, will you be giving it a go on streaming? Let us know in the comments.
Per the official press release: "The live-action musical retelling of the classic animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sweeps audiences of all ages into an adventure that blends nostalgia, notable new visuals, and a memorable soundtrack, taking story-telling to all-new fairytale heights. New productions of long-beloved songs complement five original “contemporary kingdom” tunes thoughtfully crafted by EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, breathing new melody into a well-known story.
Fans can enjoy Snow White in beautiful sight and sound with 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and Atmos audio. The digital and Blu-ray offer hours of exclusive bonus content featuring fun bloopers, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a full-length sing-along.
The 4K UHD will be available in a collectible limited edition SteelBook with radiant artwork and packaging. To celebrate the release of Marc Webb’s Snow White, Disney is proud to offer a 2-Movie Collection featuring Webb’s live-action adaptation and the 1937 animated classic, available digitally in 4K UHD, HD, and SD on May 13 and on DVD on June 24.
You can check out the Bonus Features for Snow White below:
Bloopers: Discover all the fun and laugh along with the cast as they have the time of their lives making Snow White. Sing Along with the Movie: Sing along with your favorite songs while watching the movie with onscreen lyrics.
Deleted Scenes: Anguish and Opportunity, Danger in the Woods, Hunt for Snow White
Fearless, Fair, Brave, and True: Making Snow White – Take a look behind the scenes with director Marc Webb, cast and crew as they share their vision for this live-action reimagining of Snow White, highlighting how they honor the legacy of the original story, including the characters, set design and more.
Merry Tunes: Go behind the songs with filmmakers and songwriting duo, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Hear about their new songs and how they beautifully intertwine with the classics.
Fairy Tale Fashion: Get an in-depth look at the fashion and costuming for the film, featuring legendary costume designer Sandy Powell. Along with filmmakers and cast, Sandy provides insight into how she brought iconic looks to life for Snow White, the Evil Queen and more.
Disney’s Snow White is directed by Marc Webb, written by Erin Cressida Wilson, and produced by Marc Platt, p.g.a., and Jared LeBoff, p.g.a., with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer. The film features all-new original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and an original score composed by Jeff Morrow.
The film also stars Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, Andrew Barth Feldman as Dopey, Tituss Burgess as Bashful, Martin Klebba as Grumpy, Jason Kravits as Sneezy, George Salazar as Happy, Jeremy Swift as Doc, and Andrew Grotelueschen as Sleepy.