Disney's Not So Happily Ever After: Inside SNOW WHITE’s $370 Million Disaster

It’s official, Snow White is not the fairest of them all, and Disney’s latest live-action gamble just faceplanted into the box office dirt. With a staggering $370 million budget and more behind-the-scenes drama than a reality show reunion episode, Snow White opened to just $42.2 million domestically and $86.1 million worldwide.

The Hollywood Reporter breaks down that enormous cost saying $270 million went into the production and $100 million for marketing. Some of the extra spending came from COVID protocols, the dual Hollywood strikes of 2023, a set fire, and extensive reshoots sparked by online backlash to leaked plot changes and set photos.

One studio executive at another studio shared: "You can’t say that a live-action remake of the most iconic film in the vault that cost [$270] million and has been reshot multiple times opening to $50 million is OK. The math does not work. That movie should be a billion-dollar movie."

Expectations were sky-high, but it’s unlikely the film will even reach the $400 million mark. And considering it needs at least $500 million just to break even... yeah, not good.

Much of the public controversy centers around lead actress Rachel Zegler, and her increasingly strained relationship with Disney.

The problems reportedly began when Zegler posted a “free Palestine” message on social media alongside the film’s trailer during D23. That post led to a direct confrontation with Disney brass, with producer Marc Platt flying out to NYC to talk things through. Zegler didn’t back down.

Then came her now infamous anti-Trump comments, which pushed Disney to its breaking point. An insider explained to Variety: "She didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone.”

Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, received death threats and was assigned additional security. Zegler was eventually paired with a "social media guru" to help manage her public posts, and though there’s no reported beef between her and Gadot personally, her relationship with Disney is frosty.

This tension apparently dates back to West Side Story, when Zegler reportedly clashed with the studio over missing the Oscars to begin Snow White production.

So, who actually did show up to see Snow White? Not who you'd think. Despite ongoing online claims that Zegler’s comments caused a conservative-led boycott, polling data paints a different picture.

According to EnTelligence: “63 percent of ticket sales for family and animated films generally come from blue states, while 37 percent come from cinemas in red states. In the case of Snow White, it overindexed in red states at 40 percent."

"The pattern for general audience followed the same trajectory. Cinemas in blue states generally account for 67 percent of all ticket sales, while red states account for 33 percent. In the case of Snow White, blue states came in behind the norm at 60 percent of all sales, while red states accounted for 40 percent.”

So while it doesn’t look like a boycott, something clearly kept the usual audience away. Snow White earned a B+ CinemaScore, the lowest for any Disney live-action remake.

Box office analyst Jeff Bock summed it up: "They say all press is good press, but in Snow White’s case, they were unabashedly wrong. Too much negative controversy surrounded this film for years, and it didn’t help that the reviews were subpar, likely rendering this latest live-action adventure to D+ for many potential ticket buyers."

Could Snow White still surprise everyone and turn things around like Mufasa: The Lion King, which had a rough start before making $718 million? Technically, sure. But with the toxic cloud hovering over this release and little in the way of word-of-mouth momentum, don’t hold your breath.

Disney swung big with the movie, but between internal conflict, a lead star making headlines for the wrong reasons, and a budget ballooned beyond reason, they may have just redefined what a blockbuster failure looks like.

No magic mirror needed to see this one coming.