Disney's Snow White Remake Struggles to Break Even Amid Box Office Challenges

Snow White, directed by Marc Webb, known for The Amazing Spider-Man films, had a challenging start at the box office. According to Comscore, the film earned $43 million domestically during its opening weekend, marking it the second highest debut of 2025 so far, only surpassed by Captain America: Brave New World. Despite topping the week's chart, Snow White fell short of the $45 million opening achieved by the live-action Dumbo in 2019 and did not meet expectations.

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

Internationally, Snow White's performance was similarly subdued, with an opening weekend haul of $44.3 million, bringing the global total to $87.3 million, as per Comscore estimates.

Snow White, a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1937 animated classic, stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. With a reported production budget exceeding $250 million, the film faces a steep challenge to break even, especially factoring in marketing expenses.

However, there is potential for recovery. Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the Lion King remake, started with a modest $35.4 million domestically but ultimately grossed over $717 million worldwide. Disney is likely hoping for a similar turnaround with Snow White, despite ongoing scrutiny over the performance of Captain America: Brave New World, which has earned $400.8 million globally after six weekends ($192.1 million domestic and $208.7 million international).

IGN's review of Snow White scored it a 7/10, praising it for being a meaningful adaptation rather than a mere imitation of the original.