Disaster! Snow White’s Box Office Numbers are worse than you thought

Snow White, Disney’s live-action retelling of its 1937 original, finished its first week on the US box office with lackluster performances. The movie took in only USD 1.8 million on Thursday, down 13.6 percent from Wednesday. Comparatively, other recent family releases such as Maleficent 2 and Dumbo had less of a drop in their Thursday takings, with Wonka experiencing only a 4.2 percent fall.

Also Read: The Magic wears off! Snow White’s Box Office Numbers tell a story of struggle

Lackluster Domestic Box Office Reception
The live-action Snow White has only grossed USD 52.6 million in its domestic box office run to date, a long way from the projected earnings, which were expected to equal this amount by the opening weekend. As a big Disney release, the performance of the film has been disappointing, particularly given its high production cost of USD 250 million (not including marketing). With such a trend, Snow White does not appear to be breaking even in theaters.

Backlash and Controversy Against the Film
The film’s poor box office performance has been linked to several reasons, with fan backlash prior to the film even opening among them. The film’s “blind casting” selection of Latina actress Rachel Zegler to play Snow White was attacked by critics. Zegler’s inflammatory comments, such as deeming the original animated Snow White “weird” and being critical of Trump supporters, fed into more backlash. Also, Gal Gadot, the Evil Queen, came under fire for her Zionist stance, adding to the polarized reception of the film.

Future Competition from “Minecraft Movie”
In the future, Snow White has a tough competition in the form of the much-awaited Minecraft Movie, releasing on April 4. With an opening weekend projection of a USD 55 to USD 75 million, the Minecraft Movie may rule the box office, further eclipsing Snow White’s poor performance.