Snow White becomes Disney’s worst-performing live-action remake in nearly 10 years

The ill-fated live-action Disney film was marred by controversy before its release – and it’s now scored a dubious record.

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 (A$308.5 million) worldwide.

The film’s page on IMDB.com calls the movie “officially a flop,” and says its $205.5 million (A$317 million) earnings are “miles behind its massive $410 million (A$632 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 (A$117 million), per Collider.”

Pete’s Dragon, a 2016 Disney remake of the 1977 film, came away with $143.7 million (A$221 million), $61.8 million (A$95.3 million) less than Snow White.

The Snow White remake was not without its controversies, which perhaps contributed to the film’s poor reception.

Rachel Zegler stars as the titular character. Picture: Disney

Gal Gadot plays the Evil Queen. Picture: Disney

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***ing 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.”

Zegler sparked controversy with her comments on the original film and also anti-Israel tweets. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

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 apologised, 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.

This article originally appeared in Fox News and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Snow White becomes Disney’s worst-performing live-action remake in nearly 10 years