Snow Whitehas fallen severely short in its global debut, though it has still landed on a major box office chart. The new Disney live-action remake stars Rachel Zegler in the title role opposite Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, Patrick Page as the Magic Mirror, and Gal Godot as the Evil Queen. SevereSnow Whitebacklashhas mired the new release in a wide variety of controversies, ranging from the movie’s depiction of dwarfism to Gadot and Zegler’s opposing views on the Israel-Hamas war.
PerVariety, as of Sunday morning, the global opening weekend forSnow Whiteis projected to hit a total of $87.3 million, comprising $43 million from domestic theaters and $44.3 million from international markets. This falls$12.7 million short of its original $100 million debut projections. However, in just three days, the Disney movie has become the sixth highest-grossing movie of 2025, behindMickey 17,Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,Dog Man,Captain America: Brave New World, andNe Zha 2.
What This Means For Snow White
Its Theatrical Release Isn’t Doomed Just Yet
Although the new movie has had one of the worst debuts for a Disney live-action remake, it is possible thatit could follow in the foosteps of 2024’sMufasa: The Lion King, which had a disappointing domestic debut of $35.4 million but eventually legged out to a worldwide total of $717.5 million. The stakes are higher here, however, as theSnow Whitebudgetreportedly ballooned to somewhere between $240 and $270 million, which likely places its break-even point somewhere around $650 million or more.
Because theaters keep half of ticket sales and publicity costs are not factored into production budgets, movies typically need to earn two and a half times their budgets in theaters in order to turn a profit.
If the Rachel Zegler movie follows the same trajectory asMufasa,it could eventually hit a total of $897.9 millionby the end of its theatrical run, which would most likely be enough for it to be considered a success. While its potential could be hampered by middling to negativeSnow Whitereviewsthat have earned it a Rotten Tomatoes score of 44%, the release may end up being review-proof. It didn’t affectMufasa, after all, when it earned a Rotten Tomatoes splat with a score of 57%.
Our Take On The Snow White Box Office
It Came Out At The Right Time
While theSnow Whitecontroversies could ultimately place it on a different trajectory fromMufasa, the movie will most likely benefit from a good placement on the 2025 movie schedule. It comes at the end of a slow March, so there are no holdover titles that pose major competition. Additionally, there is only one major family blockbuster tentpole - the video game featureA Minecraft Movie- set to debut in all of April, sothe path is relatively clear for the princess movie to continue to build its audience worldwidethrough the May 2 release ofMarvel’sThunderbolts*.
Snow White
Cast
A live-action adaptation of the classic fairy tale. The film follows Snow White as she escapes into the forest and seeks refuge with seven dwarfs to elude her jealous stepmother, the wicked Queen, who is threatened by Snow White’s surpassing beauty.
