Disney's Snow White Remake Struggles to Break Even After Slow Box Office Start

Snow White, directed by Marc Webb of The Amazing Spider-Man fame, faced a challenging start at the box office, pulling in a domestic total of $43 million during its opening weekend. This figure marks the second highest domestic opening of 2025, trailing only behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Captain America: Brave New World. Despite topping this week's chart, Snow White's debut fell short of the $45 million opening achieved by the live-action Dumbo in 2019 and did not meet pre-release estimates.

To put this into perspective, other Disney live-action remakes have seen much stronger openings. The Lion King (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Jungle Book (2016), and The Little Mermaid (2023) all surpassed the $100 million mark in their domestic opening weekends.

Internationally, Snow White's performance was similarly subdued, with an opening weekend haul of $44.3 million. This brings the film's global box office total to $87.3 million, according to Comscore estimates.

Snow White is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1937 animated classic, featuring Rachel Zegler as the titular character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. With a reported production budget exceeding $250 million, the film faces a steep climb to profitability, especially when factoring in marketing expenses.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for Snow White. Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the 2019 Lion King remake, started with a modest $35.4 million domestic opening but ultimately grossed over $717 million worldwide. Disney is likely banking on a similar 'sleeper hit' success for Snow White, amidst ongoing scrutiny over the performance of Captain America: Brave New World, which has earned $400.8 million globally after six weekends.

IGN's review of Snow White awarded it a 7/10, praising the film for its meaningful adaptation of the original story rather than merely replicating it.