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, experienced a challenging debut at the box office. According to Comscore, the film grossed $43 million domestically over its opening weekend, marking it as the second highest opener of 2025 so far, only surpassed by Captain America: Brave New World. Despite topping this week's chart, Snow White fell short of the $45 million opening set by the live-action Dumbo in 2019 and did not meet initial projections.

For comparison, other Disney live-action remakes have seen stronger starts, with 2019's The Lion King, 2017's Beauty and the Beast, 2016's The Jungle Book, and 2023's The Little Mermaid each pulling in over $100 million during their domestic opening weekends.

Internationally, Snow White's performance was similarly subdued, earning $44.3 million, which brought the global total to $87.3 million, as per Comscore estimates.

This live-action adaptation of Disney's 1937 animated classic features 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 reach profitability, particularly when factoring in marketing expenses.

However, there's a glimmer of hope for Snow White. Disney's previous release, Mufasa: The Lion King, opened to a modest $35.4 million domestically but eventually amassed over $717 million worldwide. Disney is likely banking on a similar 'sleeper hit' success for Snow White, even as questions linger about the performance of Captain America: Brave New World, which has accumulated $400.8 million globally after six weekends ($192.1 million domestic and $208.7 million international).

IGN's review of Snow White awarded it a 7/10, noting, "Snow White is a live-action Disney remake that meaningfully adapts its original, rather than creating a lesser mimicry."