Andrew Burnap and Rachel Zegler in “Snow White.”
Disney Enterprises, Inc.Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot’s Snow White opened with an estimated $43 million over the weekend, a disappointing take for Disney in comparison to many of the studio’s live-action adaptations from their classic animated originals.
Zegler stars in the title role and Gadot as the Evil Queen in the live-action adaptation of the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Snow White had an unusually bumpy road leading up to its release in theaters worldwide on Friday, largely stemming from controversies surrounding the production over the past three-plus years.
Zegler was at the center of many of the controversies, which included her comments calling the original animated classic dated and referring to the prince who saves Snow White a stalker, but the film also faced criticism over the events leading up to the CGI rendering of the seven dwarfs.
The bad news for Snow White — which opened in more than 4,200 theaters on Friday — is that the film’s opening weekend tally is far below many of Disney’s live-action adaptations of its animated classics.
Unless there’s a major adjustment to this weekend’s domestic box office when the final numbers for the Friday to Sunday frame are released Monday, Snow White’s $43 million opening weekend will be $3 million short of the $46 million opening weekend gross of the live-action version of Dumbo in 2019.
Per Box Office Mojo’s list of Disney’s live-action remakes — which the site dubs “reimaginings” — Disney’s live-action adaptation of its 1994 hand-drawn animated blockbuster The Lion King has made the most money in its opening weekend at the domestic box office, having earned $191.7 million from 4,802 venues in its three-day frame in 2019.
Disney’s live-action version of the 1991 animated hit Beauty and the Beast had the second biggest three-day opening after The Lion King with a domestic gross of $174.7 million from 4,210 screens in 2017.
Snow White’s opening weekend box office projections have been on a downslide for the past month. On Feb. 21, Box Office Pro reported that Snow White was tracking to make anywhere from $65 million to $85 million domestically.
However, in the days leading up to the release, Variety pegged the live-action to open in the neighborhood of $45 million to $55 million.
The flat opening at the domestic box office for Snow White is no doubt concerning for Disney, considering the film’s immense production budget before prints and advertising costs. According to, Variety, Snow White cost more than $250 million to produce, while box office tracker The Numbers reported that the film cost $270 million to make.
Gal Gadot in “Snow White.”
Disney Enterprises, Inc.What Other Disney Live-Action Adaptations Opened Bigger Than ‘Snow White’?
According to Box Office Mojo, Alice in Wonderland had the third biggest opening weekend for a Disney live-action reimagining of one of its animated classics, when it earned $116. 1 million from 3,728 North American theaters in March of 2010.
The only other Disney live-action remake to earn more than $100 million domestically in its first three days was The Jungle Book, which made $103.2 million from 4,028 venues in April 2016.
Four other Disney live-action adaptations opened ahead of Snow White’s $43 million take in its opening weekend. The studio’s remake of The Little Mermaid made $95.5 million in its opening three-day frame from 4,320 North American theaters in May 2023, while the live-action version of Aladdin made $91.5 from 4,476 venues in May of 2019.
Meanwhile, Disney’s live-action version of Maleficent — based on the animated classic Sleeping Beauty — earned $69.4 million in its opening weekend from 3,948 screens in May of 2014, while Cinderella made $67.8 million from 3,848 venues in March of 2015.
Box Office Mojo’s list of Disney’s live-action reimaginings also indicates the amount each of the films made during their domestic runs in theaters, with 2019’s The Lion King topping the chart with $543.6 million in ticket sales.
Curiously, The Lion King prequel Mufasa: The Lion King is not a part of Box Office Mojo’s list, while the sequels to the live-action versions of Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent are. It could be that since Mufasa: The Lion King takes place before the events before The Lion King, it is being counted as an original story rather than an adaptation of one of Disney’s animated films.
Regardless, Mufasa: The Lion King, per Box Office Mojo, made $35.8 million from 4,100 North American theaters over its opening weekend in December of 2024 and has earned $253.8 million to domestically to date.
Whether Snow White can get some momentum at the box office after a weak opening like Mufasa: The Lion King is yet to be seen. Rated PG, Snow White is now in theaters.
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