Hardly anything to celebrate: Disney’s Snow White movie, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, is bombing harder than previously thought—and it could be on track to lose $200 million.
Domestic box office lower
First off, while the trades have reported that Snow White brought in $43 million domestically, the actual figure is lower at $42.2 million—falling short of even the lowest projections, which were around $45 million.
International and Worldwide box office lower
Likewise, the worldwide box office is also below what was reported. While the trades claimed $87.3 million globally, the real number is $86.1 million. Much like its domestic performance, Snow White has underperformed overseas as well.
Budget higher than expected
We’re getting even more insight into just how badly Snow White is performing, as it’s now been revealed the budget isn’t $270 million—but a whopping $370 million. That includes a massive $100 million marketing campaign from Disney that failed to deliver and put moviegoers to sleep.
Could result in $200M loss for Disney
THR also reports that industry insiders estimate Snow White needs to make at least $500 million just to hit the “box office safety net.”
However, THR acknowledges that due to poor ticket sales and weak word-of-mouth, Snow White could end up grossing only $300 million to $400 million globally—well short of the $500 million threshold. That could mean a potential $200 million loss for Disney.
Falling behind Dumbo
It’s already known that Snow White’s opening weekend trailed behind Dumbo’s $46 million debut. Dumbo went on to earn $114.7 million domestically and $353 million worldwide. Snow White’s first Monday numbers (see below) are also trailing Dumbo’s.
Needs legs but doubtful
For Snow White to succeed or even break even, it will need strong legs at the box office. But with negative reviews and the controversy surrounding Rachel Zegler, that seems increasingly unlikely.
Snow White has a Rotten Tomatoes Score from critics, which is now lower at 42%. The fan score is at 74%. The CinemaScore is a B+, and the IMDb rating is only at 1.7.
Moviegoers well aware of the controversy
While THR says “data shows the average moviegoers may be paying far less attention to the political dynamics than social media and news headlines would suggest,” I don’t believe that to be the case at all.
I know for a fact that our own social media posts have reached millions—and that’s just on my Facebook page alone. A quick scroll through Facebook shows just about every page capitalizing on the negative buzz surrounding Disney, Zegler, and Snow White.
If you’re wondering why you see so many memes on Facebook and X, it’s because both platforms incentivize meme content over links. They actually pay page owners based on impressions. So while the movie isn’t making any money for Disney—Zegler and Snow White have turned into a gold mine for users on Facebook and X.
Snow White box office as of Monday:
- Domestic (50.5%): $44,720,897
- International (49.5%): $43,907,066
- Worldwide: $88,627,963
Weekend
- Mar 21-23: $42,206,415
Daily
- Mar 21 Friday: $16,255,317
- Mar 22 Saturday: $15,620,436 -3.9%
- Mar 23 Sunday: $10,330,662 -33.9%
- Mar 24 Monday: $2,514,482 -75.7%
