Disney puts huge upcoming film ‘on hold’ after Snow White’s massive flop

Disney has pumped the brakes on its next planned live-action remake after Snow White tanked at the global box office.

Disney pumped the brakes on its live-action remake of the 2010 animated hit Tangled after Snow White tanked at the box office.

Executives put the movie on pause despite having already hired The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey to helm it, studio insiders told the Hollywood Reporter.

Up until now, the project had been moving full steam ahead with a script by Thor: Love and Thunder co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson in the works.

The movie had been in pre-production stages and executives started their hunt for talent before things abruptly came to a halt, according to Deadline.

Both outlets reported that Disney’s decision was largely due to the disastrous rollout of the live-action Snow White remake, which hit cinemas March 21.

The live action Snow White has had a “disastrous” box office result.

The studio spent $US270 million to make and promote the Rachel Zegler-starring movie, which grossed only $US70 million in the US and $US146 million worldwide.

The Snow White release was plagued with controversy from the very start, from racist backlash over Zegler’s casting as the titular character to the decision to use computer-generated little people rather than real actors.

Zegler, 23, added fuel to the fire when she slammed the original 1937 animated film as “weird” and “dated,” joking that the prince “literally stalks” Snow White.

She also rustled some feathers at Disney when she mixed promotional content for the movie with her political opinions online.

On top of that, Zegler and co-star Gal Gadot reportedly had tension over their differing opinions on the Israel-Hamas war. While Zegler describes herself as “pro-Palestine,” Gadot, 39, previously served in the Israel Defense Forces.

Plans for a live-action Tangled have now been put on hold.

Disney decided to scale back premieres for the costly movie as a result of all the drama, limiting red carpets to only photographers rather than the media.

The studio is reportedly now re-evaluating its strategy of bringing back movies from the vault despite experiencing past success with Mufasa: The Lion King, which grossed $US720 million worldwide, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, which both brought in well over $US1 billion.

However, Disney already has live-action remakes of Lilo & Stitch and Moana coming to cinemas within the next year and a half.

It likely will use audiences’ reception of the films to make a final decision about the future of a Tangled remake.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Disney puts huge upcoming film ‘on hold’ after Snow White’s massive flop