“Snow White” partial teaser poster.
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot’s Snow White, Disney’s beleaguered live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, appears to be headed for a weekend box office opening below the latest projections.
Starring Zegler in the title role and Gadot as the Evil Queen, Snow White is more of a reimagining than it is a straight-up remake of the classic 1937 Walt Disney animated feature. Word of changes to the film’s story from the likes of Zegler — including pointed observations of how the film was dated — were among some of the controversies that have been plaguing the production for more than three years.
Despite the controversies and lukewarm reviews from critics, audiences are ultimately going to decide whether Snow White is going to be a hit, beginning with Thursday previews, where the earned $3.5 million, Deadline reported Friday morning.
Now, the Hollywood trade is already projection a total for the weekend, and it’s not looking good for Disney. Deadline is projecting the film will open with $45.5 million in ticket sales from 4,200 North American theaters.
Snow White’s opening falls in line with the low end of Variety’s opening projection on Friday, which pegged the film to bring in $45 million to $55 million in its first weekend frame.
Snow White’s opening weekend projection has been on the downslide for about a month. In February, Box Office Pro projected that the film would make anywhere from $65 million to $85 million domestically.
If Deadline’s projection of Snow White holds, it will be in the company of Disney’s live-action adaptation of Dumbo, which grossed nearly $46 million when it opened on roughly the same number of screens domestically in 2019.
Rachel Zegler in “Snow White.”
‘Snow White’ Is No ‘Little Mermaid’
While the numbers can change for the better — or worse — for Snow White over the weekend, one thing is for certain: The Marc Webb-directed fantasy musical has no chance of eclipsing the opening weekend gross of the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid in May of 2023.
The Little Mermaid, which stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, brought in $10.3 million in Thursday previews on its way to an opening weekend of $95.5 million. Per The Numbers, The Little Mermaid went on to make nearly $298.2 million domestically and $271.4 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $596.6 million against a $250 million production budget before prints and advertising costs.
Via Deadline, the Hollywood analytics firm The Quorum noted Friday, “[Snow White] was never tracking to open at the same level as [The Little Mermaid], though six weeks ago – at 42 days out – the data suggested that the film could open north of $60M.”
While Snow White looks to be opening in the same range as Dumbo, it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples (or is it poisoned apples?) comparison.
According to Deadline, Snow White had a $270 million production budget P&A while Dumbo cost $170 million to make before marketing.
While reports for the exact production budget of Snow White have varied — Variety said the film cost “more than $250 million” and The Numbers reported a $270 million price tag — Disney’s latest live-action adaptation is facing a steep uphill climb to make up some ground in the coming weeks.
While it doesn’t seem probable, it’s certainly possible, as Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King has proven recently. Per The Numbers, the prequel to the live-action version of The Lion King earned $35.4 million in its opening weekend Dec. 20-22, 2024, yet managed to gain enough momentum in subsequent weeks.
To date, Mufasa: The Lion King has earned $253.1 million domestically and $464.1 million internationally for a worldwide box office gross of $717.2 million against a $200 million budget before P&A.
Deadline projects that Focus Features’ spy thriller Black Bag will take the No. 2 spot at the weekend box office with $4.35 million in ticket sales from 2,713 theaters, which will boost its domestic tally to $14.8 million.
The trade publication also projected that Disney’s Captain America: Brave New World will finish at No. 3 with $4.3 million from 2,900 venues, bringing its North America tally to $192.3 million.
Deadline also projects that the Paramount Pictures’ crime comedy Novocaine will finish at No. 4 with $3.8 million — which will up its domestic take to $15.8 million; and Warner Bros.’ sci-fi comedy Mickey 17 will round out the top five with $3.8 million to boost its running domestic tally to $40.1 million.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend as new domestic and international numbers become available. The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.
