Disney‘s Snow White is coming in lighter for the weekend with $43M domestic and an $87.3M global start. Not a happy ending for this $270M production, which was impacted by the actors strike, Covid breakout, a set fire and more.
They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but clearly in the case of Snow White there was. Disney has been put through the ringer before on controversial theatrical releases –i.e. Solo: A Star Wars Story and its swapping of directors from Lord & Miller to Ron Howard, which deep-sixed that movie to a very less than $1 billion global take of $393M worldwide. It’s why Disney muzzles talent on slipping any kind of information on a movie months in advance, particularly on Star Wars and Marvel movies. The concern is that if stars tease too much, or go off book, it will trigger a gong around the world, with an avalanche to follow for what’s being primed as a tentpole with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Exhibit A proof that Snow White was doomed was when Disney pushed the pic’s release an entire year; the pic originally scheduled to hit marquees on March 22, 2024.
EntTelligence measured that 3.1M people attended Snow White which is around what Wonka did (3M, $39M opening) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (3.3M, $45M opening).
On the bright side, the live action take of the 1937 toon is opening higher than other controversial laden movies such as Warner Bros’ Catwoman ($16.7M) and Joker: Folie a Deux ($37.6M) and even Relativity’s very expensive-at-the-time 2012 version of Snow White, Mirror Mirror ($18.1M).
However, at the current level, as we told you Friday, it’s right on par with Dumbo’s lackluster start ($46M), and far behind other Disney feature takes of vaults animated movies, i.e. The Little Mermaid ($95.5M), Maleficent ($69.4M), and Cinderella ($67.8M).
Oh, and Snow White received a B+ CinemaScore, which is an extremely low grade for this type of Disney sub-genre. Even the middling ones, i.e. Dumbo (A-), Mufasa (A-), Pete’s Dragon (A), and the Maleficent franchise (both As) earned top grades with audiences. A fairest grade resides in the Rotten Tomatoes score of 74% for Snow White which is better than Dumbo (47%), and not far from Maleficent (70%) and Cinderella (78%).
Amid star Rachel Zegler’s candid comments during production of Snow White, and the whole dwarf debacle, was there any way Disney could have curtailed all the bad press on what was hoped to be a potential box office winner?
Some in motion picture marketing realms firmly believe no, but there’s an argument to be made that the studio could have alleviated this. Even though critical reviews stand at 44% Rotten, there was a positive word of mouth that began to eke out of last weekend’s Hollywood world premiere about this musical with songs by Greatest Showman Pasek and Paul. Way too late! Disney could have rallied the support of millennial and Gen Z social media influencers, screened the movie to them early on, and blasted the loudspeakers instead of enduring a barrage of tabloid pieces. They let the bad word of mouth get into the ether. Per Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak, 38% said they went to Snow White because it looked fun, while 32% cited the Disney princess genre.
But there’s another thing when it comes to Snow White, and it has nothing to do with controversy, rather her age, that being in Disney years, 88 years old. How does Little Mermaid, which also endured a ton of male online vitriol over the casting of its lead, in that case, Halle Bailey, open to $95.5M over 3-days and do a 3x multiple a near $300M domestic? How does Little Mermaid get away with it and Snow White can’t?
As we pointed out with Dumbo, these live-action takes of older, vintage Disney musicals and animated movies –i.e. Maleficent, Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, they just open lower. They have darker, colder, classical themes, which don’t play to today’s massive female audience.
But think about it: If one subtracted Zegler as Snow White, and replaced her with another actress — really, how much more money can this princess open to? That’s assuming the plot (which is pretty similar to the original) and the songs (which aren’t) stay the same. Probably not much given how old Snow White is. And who would play Snow White? We don’t know what Sabrina Carpenter’s leading lady box office worth is.
According to Screen Engine’s PostTrak, 21% went to Snow White because of Zegler and Gadot. Compare this to Wicked‘s opening weekend when 34% of that pic’s heavy female audience said they went to see the movie because Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Said social media analytics corp RelishMix about one string being pulled in the negative buzz for Snow White: “Some feel the story is so antiquated and boring for modern audiences, sharing, ‘This remake looks so dull and unengaging, which only adds to the creepiness of the CGI’ and ‘Kudos Disney. You wrecked more of your classic history.’”
Not to mention, the current millennial, Gen Y and Gen Z didn’t grow up with the older toons like they did with late 80s/early 90s Disney animated musical renaissance under former Disney No. 2 Jeffrey Katzenberg. Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King mean something significantly more to those in their 20s and 30s than say the original Snow White, which they probably never watched in a movie theater.
In the segue from Sean Bailey to David Greenbaum as cappo of Disney motion picture studios, the mandate isn’t to completely abandon the live-action takes of Disney toons (Moana is coming out on July 10, 2026), but there has to be an edge, or a way in. That’s the new rule. Don’t make Bambi, just to make Bambi. A perfect example: Cruella. Rather than just simply re-tell 101 Dalmatians again, the way into these IP is more character driven, more avant garde: How does a fashion designer turn ugly and steal puppies? Is it no surprise that Snow White is opening under Universal’s 2012 Snow White and the Huntsmen ($56.2M)? That movie was punk rock next to Disney’s version here with Kristen Stewart still in her Twilight zeitgeist and an ax-wielding beefcake in Chris Hemsworth, as well as sexy Charlize Theron.
The one thing that’s better for Snow White right now than Prince Charming is that “it’s the only thing out there” as far as tentpoles go for girls per several sources. More optimism for Disney from the target audience: Snow White received an A- from women and kids under 18. PostTrak shows that kids under 12 gave it a 51% definite recommend which is good, which means it has some nag factor to push their parents to go. Like Mufasa which also opened below expectations ($35.4M), Snow White could leg out. However, general audiences with a 43% definite recommend want no business with evil queens, a damsel in distress with puffy satin shoulders, and seven miners.
More under the hood with Snow White: Very female skewing at 68%, 14% of the audience was between 13-17 years old, 24% of the audience was 18-24 years old, 23% of the audience between 25-34 years old and 38% of the audience 35+ years old. Diversity demos are 45% Caucasian, 25% Latino and Hispanic, 12% Black, 11% Asian & 7% NatAm/Other. PLFs and Imax are only delivering 32% of the weekend (which is expected with a female leaning family movie). North America Imax auditoriums minted $2.8M from 398 screens.
Snow White did even business throughout the country I’m told with Latino and Hispanic markets like San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix overperforming. AMC Disney Springs FL the pic’s highest grossing multiplex so far with $135,2K through Saturday.
RelishMix spotted followers across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X that numbered 534M before opening, which was “52% above family-live-action genre averages. Materials are strongest on YouTube with 186M views with a strong viral rate at 31:1.” As we told you earlier, awareness of the film for moviegoers wasn’t the problem. Getting them to see it was another story. As such RelishMix says, “Negative chatter on Snow White runs thick in two areas: the choice to make the dwarves CGI and Disney’s decision not to cast real actors to play the dwarves is backfiring heavily, with comments like, “Those CGI dwarves were awful! Nightmare fuel!’ and ‘Disney took away jobs from people who could actually play the dwarfs.”
Warner Bros’ Alto Knights at a $50M cost before P&A will likely lose less money given its lower cost threshold and rolled back marketing spend versus Snow White. But at a $3.1M start in 6th (we’re still waiting on the studio’s official figure), it’s Warner Bros. second bomb this year after Mickey 17. At $3M, Alto Knights is lower than the Robert De Niro-Sylvester Stallone Warner Bros box movie Grudge Match ($7M, ‘memba that 2013 movie?). That said, it’s arguably not the 2x Oscar winners lowest wide entry opening ever (1989’s We’re No Angels, another De Niro dud, opened to $2M unadjusted for inflation). Why was this movie made? The urban legend is that Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav gave it the greenlight because he’s buddies with the pic’s producer Irwin Winkler. Scribe Nick Pileggi is also Zas’s neighbor who he can borrow a cup of sugar from in the Hamptons. Actually, Warner Bros Motion Picture boss Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy worked with Winkler on Creed III at MGM; and the former worked with Barry Levinson on the 2x Oscar nominated Wag the Dog at New Line. Big chain exhibitors were calling for a diversity of slate, and here was a movie squarely aimed at very older men (58% men, 77% of the audience over 35, 33% over 55). Double De Niro sounded intriguing under Bugsy‘s Levinson. Why’d the Raging Bull thespian do it? I heard because he wanted the challenge of playing two Dons, especially if Alto Knights is his final gangster film (not final film). What’s sad, is that the gangster movie, until someone makes a new one and breaks the genre completely (Hello, Nic Winding Refn? Where are you?) has been whacked by streaming and The Sopranos. How to redefine the gangster genre nowadays? Why through the lens of Batman with villain Penguin and an acerbic, savage femme doña in Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. That’s gangsta. Alto Knights gets a B CinemaScore.
Other stuff:
Bill Skarsgard and Anthony Hopkins have the psychological horror film Locked at 971 theaters which grossed $330K Friday and $340K Saturday for an estimated $900K opening. Alright ticket sales in NY, LA, Orlando, San Francisco, Tampa and Atlanta. RT Critics are at 68% fresh. Sam Raimi produced this story about Eddie (Skarsgård) who breaks into a luxury SUV. He steps into a deadly trap set by William (Hopkins), a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
RLJE/Shudder’s Flying Lotus’ directed final girl sci-fi movie Ash starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul did $326K Friday, $25K on Saturday at 1,136 theaters for a $716,7K opening weekend. Best areas of business for the movie, which world premiered at SXSW, is NYC, LA and San Francisco. Critics at 74% like it more than audience at 57%.
Briarcliff Entertainment’s rescue of Jonathan Majors 2023 Sundance darling Magazine Dreams in which he played a brooding boxer (far too close to his own real life) did $340K on Friday, for what’s looking like a $700K opening at 815 sites. I hear ticket sales were OK in NY, LA, Atlanta, Chicago and DC and that’s it. Critics always liked the movie at 81% on RT, but audiences at 91% respected it as well. You’ll remember Searchlight bought the movie after Sundance in what was a potential awards season play but following the Majors’ scandal with his girlfriend, they unloaded the movie.
Snow White‘s fainting at the box office has created a marketplace for all titles that’s coming in at an estimated $76.4M, which is -26% off from the same period a year ago when Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opened to $45M. We’ll wait on the Comscore figures, but this awful box office streak has 2025 at $1.33 billion now slipping behind 2024 at -7%
The chart — Sunday updated box office figures indicated in bold.
1.) Snow White (Dis) 4,200 theaters, Fri $16M, Sat $15.5M Sun $11.5M 3-day $43M/Wk 1
2.) Black Bag (Foc) 2,713 (+8) theaters, Fri $1.26M (-55%) Sat $1.9M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.4M (-42%), Total $14.88M/Wk 2
3.) Captain America: Brave New World (Dis) 2,900 (-350) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-25%) Sat $1.8M Sun $1.2M 3-day $4.1M (-27%), Total $192.1M/Wk 6
4.) Mickey 17 (WB) 2,584 (-1223) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-51%) Sat $1.6M Sun $1.2M 3-day $3.9M (-48%), Total $40.2M/Wk 3
5.) Novocaine (Par) 3,369 (+4) theaters, Fri $1.07M (-73%), Sat $1.5M Sun $1.1M 3-day $3.76M (-57%), Total $15.76M/Wk 2
6.) Alto Knights (WB) 2,651 theaters, Fri $1.1M, Sat $1.2M Sun $785K 3-day $3.1M/Wk 1
7.) Looney Tunes…(Ketchup) 2,703 (-124) Fri $472,5K Sat $801K Sun $560K , 3-day $1.83M (-41%)/Total $6.4M/Wk 2
8.) The Monkey (NEON) 1,452 (-842) theaters, Fri $435K Sat $675K Sun $438K 3-day $1.55M (-38%), Total $37.8M/Wk 5
9.) Dog Man (Uni) 1,766 (-641) theaters, Fri $400K (-42%) Sat $650K Sun $450K 3-day $1.5M (-41%), Total $95.6M/Wk 8
10.) Last Supper (Pinn) Fri $365K Sat $539K Sun $431K, 3-day $1.33M (-52%), Total $5.3M/Wk 2
11.) Paddington in Peru (Sony) 1,653 (-836) theaters, Fri $342K (-51%) Sat $580K Sun $378K 3-day $1.3M (-46%), Total $43.66M/Wk 6