Disney's latest live-action remake, *Snow White*, directed by Marc Webb, known for *The Amazing Spider-Man* films, faced a challenging start at the box office. The film opened with a domestic total of $43 million, marking it as one of the lowest opening weekends for Disney's remakes. This figure, while enough to top the charts for the week and rank as the second biggest opening of 2025 behind *Captain America: Brave New World*, fell short of the $45 million debut of the live-action *Dumbo* in 2019 and did not meet pre-release estimates.
To put this into perspective, other Disney remakes like *The Lion King* (2019), *Beauty and the Beast* (2017), *The Jungle Book* (2016), and *The Little Mermaid* (2023) all boasted opening weekend domestic totals exceeding $100 million. Internationally, *Snow White* fared similarly, pulling in $44.3 million, resulting in a global opening weekend total of $87.3 million, according to Comscore estimates.
*Snow White* is a reimagining of Disney's 1937 animated classic, featuring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. With a reported production budget exceeding $250 million, the film now faces a steep challenge to break even, especially when factoring in marketing expenses.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for *Snow White*. Disney's *Mufasa: The Lion King*, a prequel to the 2019 *Lion King* remake, started with a modest $35.4 million domestic opening but ultimately grossed over $717 million worldwide. Disney is likely banking on a similar 'sleeper hit' success for *Snow White*, amidst ongoing scrutiny over the performance of *Captain America: Brave New World*, which has accumulated $400.8 million globally after six weekends.
IGN's review of *Snow White* awarded it a 7/10, commending the film for its meaningful adaptation of the original story, rather than merely replicating it.
