Snow White Bombs at the Box Office
Disney’s Snow White remake starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot bombed at the box office, pulling in only $205.6 million globally against a reported $270 million+ budget. Even Disney admitted the movie was a bust in its most recent investor report.
The film struggled to gain traction from the start, despite its massive marketing push. Its theatrical numbers landed it among Disney’s worst-performing live-action adaptations.
Fans Watched It — Only When It Was Free
Now we’re getting a clearer picture of what happened. According to data from Disney-invested Samba TV, Snow White saw a 405% spike in viewership in the first five days after hitting Disney+ on June 11, compared to when it was released on PVOD.
That means fans were curious enough to watch it, but only when it was essentially free with a Disney+ subscription. They weren’t interested in paying for it on-demand or seeing it in theaters.
Curious — But Not Curious Enough to Pay
The fact that fans waited for the Disney+ release says everything. People were aware of the movie, maybe even intrigued, but not enough to financially support it. Whether it was the trailers, the early reviews, or just general fatigue with Disney remakes, Snow White didn’t offer anything worth the price of admission.
The Rachel Zegler Problem
It didn’t help that Rachel Zegler alienated a good chunk of the fanbase. She openly criticized the original Snow White, mocked the classic love story, and brought her politics into press events, all of which sparked massive backlash online.
Things reportedly got so bad that a Disney producer had to step in and tell her to cool it. The son of of the producer blamed Zegler for the movie’s failure.
Was There Genuine Interest After All?
So what does this mean? Maybe there was genuine curiosity from fans, but not enough trust in the product or lead actress to pay for it. Snow White wasn’t worth the money, and audiences made that clear.
There’s a lesson here for Disney: don’t take your audience for granted. It’ll be interesting to see what the Nielsen streaming numbers show in a few weeks and whether this kind of pattern becomes the norm for big-budget flops.
Disney’s Strategy Clearly Backfired
Disney expected Snow White to be a massive hit. They threw money, marketing, and star power at the project and still got rejected. The streaming spike doesn’t save the film’s reputation; if anything, it highlights just how many people avoided paying to see it.
What’s Next for Disney’s Remake Machine?
This isn’t a one-off. Peter Pan & Wendy, The Little Mermaid, and now Snow White have all stumbled. At some point, Disney will have to rethink its remake strategy or risk alienating even more of its core fanbase.
Following the failure of Snow White, Disney has put the breaks on animated live-action adaptations. According to the trades, Tangled has been put on pause, and possibly Hercules.
