Disney’s “Snow White” reboot is leaving a legacy it certainly doesn’t want, becoming the company’s worst-performing wide-release live-action remake in almost 10 years.
The 2025 remake of the original 1937 movie opened March 21 in the US and Canada, and has struggled, earning barely $200 million worldwide.
The film’s page on IMDB.com calls the movie “officially a flop,” and says its $205.5 million earnings are “miles behind its massive $410 million total cost,” including marketing, production, and other items. The site calls the film’s disappointing performance “a financial blow which few expected to be this severe, especially with the losses already estimated at over $115 million, per Collider.”
“Pete’s Dragon,” a 2016 Disney remake of the 1977 film, came away with $143.7 million, $61.8 million less than “Snow White.”
The “Snow White” remake was not without its controversies, which perhaps contributed to the film’s poor reception.
Over three years before the film’s release, one A-list actor with dwarfism had Walt Disney Studios reframe how it portrayed the classic seven dwarfs characters.
“Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage called out the studio for even considering taking a stab at portraying magical dwarfs in the modern era.
Speaking on comedian Marc Maron’s podcast in 2022, Dinklage stated, “You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f—–g backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the f— are you doing, man?”
Disney then addressed the complaint and said the company would take a “different approach” to the seven dwarfs.
Rachel Zegler, the film’s lead actress, faced backlash on social media for comments she made that were critical of the 1937 version of “Snow White.”
“I mean, you know, the original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so,” Zegler said during Disney’s D23 Expo in 2022. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”
Due to the controversy over the dwarfs and Zegler’s comments on the original movie, Disney announced in late 2023 it would delay the release for “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” by a full year. It was originally slated to be released in March 2024.
Zegler was also vocal about her anti-Israel views.
In an August 2024 X post talking about the official trailer for “Snow White,” the actress wrote, “And always remember, free Palestine.”
She also lashed out at people who voted for President Donald Trump, saying in an Instagram post, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” adding, “F— Donald Trump.”
She later apologized, saying in part that “Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding.”
Disney also scaled back the Hollywood premiere event for “Snow White.”
Variety reported “the studio won’t be rolling out a robust red carpet like it usually does,” and that the dozens of media outlets customarily present wouldn’t be. Instead, coverage consisted of house crew members and photographers.
Fox News Digital reached out to Disney for comment on “Snow White’s” box office numbers, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
