Disney's woke Snow White ‘heading for $115m loss'
It comes after the controversy-laden film, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, faced one of the entertainment giant's most unsuccessful box office opening weekends for a live-action remake.
According to Hollywood industry news website Deadline, Snow White is headed to an estimated loss of $115 million (£89 million) based on its final worldwide box office of $225 million (£174 million).
The embattled film, produced by Wicked's Marc Platt, cost the studio upwards of £207 million to make, excluding post-production marketing, which can typically double the number.
Snow White is predicted to gross just $100 million at the domestic box office, making it less successful than 2019's Dumbo remake, which was widely considered a flop.
The film has been beset by controversy for years, including being billed by star Zegler as 'a politically correct' and feminist remake of the popular 1937 fairytale animation, as well as facing criticism for its CGI depiction of the seven dwarves.
Zegler was also publicly criticised by Jonah Platt, the lead producer's son, for her outspoken political social media posts throughout the movie's PR run, including pro-Palestine tweets and anti-Trump posts saying she hoped the US president and his supporters 'never know peace'.
In a since-deleted Instagram comment, he blasted Zegler for 'dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for'.
Jonah Platt added that the 23-year-old actress 'hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires', saying that 'narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged'.
Zegler's outspoken political posts, which included tagging on a 'free Palestine' tweet onto her promotion of the film's trailer, 'clearly hurt the film's box office', he said.
He confirmed that his father flew 'across the country' to 'reprimand' Zegler after the post caused a 'severe rift' with Israeli star Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen.
The remake, released in cinemas on March 21, was meant to be an easy win for the studio after the success of other live-action remakes, including 2010's Alice in Wonderland, 2016's The Jungle Book and 2017's Beauty and the Beast, which all surpassed a billion dollars at the box office.
However, the film – directed by 500 Days of Summer's Marc Webb with songs written by Oscar-winning songwriting duo Pasek and Paul – has instead faced a flop in theatres in its first two weekends.
Deadline's forecast of the financial hit to the studio is calculated from costs including $410 million in feature expenses comprising the hefty production price tag – one that was overblown because of Hollywood strike delays and a fire on the UK set – as well as an estimated $111 million in global marketing costs as well as other expenses.
It suggests the film will clear $295 million in revenues, but this does not include proceeds from viewership once Snow White hits Disney+.
Issues with the PR campaign became so severe that the studio took the unusual step of scaling back its world premiere in Hollywood last month by curtailing red carpet interviews and not inviting external media outlets to speak to stars.
After the scaled-back premiere in Los Angeles, Marc Platt said Disney's job 'is to delight' as he expressed hope that 'all the noise' surrounding the remake would fade away once people watched it.
However, the film has received a critical reception from reviewers since its release and currently has dismal rankings on the two largest movie rating platforms, including an IMDb ranking of 1.5 out of 10 and 40 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The 30 best films on Disney+ to watch now
With Disney+, the clue is very much in the name: there's a lot more on there than just the classic catalogue we'd usually call Disney. Following their acquisitions of Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), Lucasfilm (2012), and – biggest of all – 20th Century Fox (2019), the service went live with all of those separate coffers jam-packed. Many families own it chiefly for animated favourites old and new, so I've devoted about half of this list to cherry-picking those. Every Star Wars sequel (plus the TV spin-offs) is available, of course; ditto every entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I've only picked one favourite apiece in those canons, but franchise devotees will doubtless know their way around that content already. What's less foregrounded is some of the more adult-targeted Fox content, from a pretty broad range of genres, so this dominates the back end of my list. Yes, Avatar and its sequel are streamable, too, but there's a lot more to the studio's back catalogue than effects blockbusters. It would be a real blessing if Disney would license Fox's golden oldies – couldn't we have Laura (1944) or My Darling Clementine (1946) or All About Eve (1950)? For the time being, though, there's some splendid rummaging to be done in the past half-century. Skip to: Animation Musicals Comedy/Drama Fantasy and Sci-fi War Animation Moana (2016)
Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Bend It Like Beckham sequel in the works, director says
A sequel to Bend It Like Beckham is in development more than 20 years after its original release, the film's director has confirmed. The 2002 comedy-drama starred Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, who chase careers in professional football despite their parents' wishes. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, it is credited with inspiring a generation of women to take up football. Chadha teased the sequel in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday (July 26), where England are set to take on Spain in the final of the Women's Euros on Sunday (July 27). A sequel to 'BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM' is in the works. (Source: Deadline) — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 26, 2025 She has earmarked 2027 for the next instalment, to mark both the film's 25th anniversary and the FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, BBC News reports. Chadha said she was still unsure what form the sequel might take, but suggested it could either be another film or a television series. "I'm pretty certain that everyone's going to want to come back" Discussing with Deadline about the sequel, Chadha shared: "I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game." The original cast members 'are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit". 'I'm pretty certain that everyone's going to want to come back,' she adds hopefully. She added: 'Everything hinges on the script and if the original cast likes it. 'I am working really hard to make sure every character I bring back has a decent arc and scenes.' Alongside that, there is the hope that members of the current England squad would be "queuing up" to take on cameo roles. Although the environment around women's football has changed significantly since the film's release, Chadha says there is still some work to be done. She explained: "A lot has changed since the original movie, but I think that people still don't think that women should play football. "There are people who still don't take it seriously, although the Lionesses are riding high.
South Wales Argus
5 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Bend It Like Beckham sequel in the works, director says
The 2002 comedy-drama starred Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, who chase careers in professional football despite their parents' wishes. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, it is credited with inspiring a generation of women to take up football. Chadha teased the sequel in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday (July 26), where England are set to take on Spain in the final of the Women's Euros on Sunday (July 27). A sequel to 'BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM' is in the works. (Source: Deadline) — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 26, 2025 She has earmarked 2027 for the next instalment, to mark both the film's 25th anniversary and the FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, BBC News reports. Chadha said she was still unsure what form the sequel might take, but suggested it could either be another film or a television series. "I'm pretty certain that everyone's going to want to come back" Discussing with Deadline about the sequel, Chadha shared: "I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game." The original cast members 'are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit". 'I'm pretty certain that everyone's going to want to come back,' she adds hopefully. She added: 'Everything hinges on the script and if the original cast likes it. 'I am working really hard to make sure every character I bring back has a decent arc and scenes.' Alongside that, there is the hope that members of the current England squad would be "queuing up" to take on cameo roles. Although the environment around women's football has changed significantly since the film's release, Chadha says there is still some work to be done. Recommended reading: She explained: "A lot has changed since the original movie, but I think that people still don't think that women should play football. "There are people who still don't take it seriously, although the Lionesses are riding high. "I've left it a while, but I thought: look at the Euros, look at the Lionesses."
