Disney’s live-action Snow White (2025) will hit theaters in just over a month. The film that everyone loves to hate will finally get a chance to show the world what it’s made of.
For months, Snow White has been surrounded by controversy. It started with the casting of Rachel Zegler, who is Colombian American, in the title role.
Zegler did not accept the backlash to her casting lightly. She frequently clashed with online trolls until she went too far after the election.
Shortly after Donald Trump’s presidential win, Zegler posted a message on her Instagram account expressing her disappointment. The message ended with, “May Trump supporters and voters and Trump himself never know peace.” Despite the relatively benign nature of her comments, many Trump supporters saw them as a direct threat.
Zegler would later apologize for the comments, but the damage was done. When Disney released the trailer for the new Snow White, it was one of the most disliked trailers in YouTube’s history.
Despite all the controversy and reshoots, Disney finally has some good news. Quorum, which tracks box office forecasts, predicts that Snow White will take home between $63 and $70 million in its opening weekend.
While it’s not a massive haul, it would make the film the 18th largest March opening weekend ever. In comparison, Disney’s live-action Cinderella (2015) opened in March with $68 million. It would go on to make nearly $550 million worldwide.
Disney would be ecstatic if Snow White could somehow replicate Cinderella’s success. Production costs soared to over $350 million for Snow White, and with its marketing budget, the film most likely cost nearly $500 million.
Disney received nearly $50 million in tax rebates from the United Kingdom government for filming on location there, which will help to recoup some of the film’s costs.
Snow White isn’t exactly facing stiff competition when it opens on March 21. It will compete against the Robert DeNiro film The Alto Knights (2025) , and in an ironic twist, the Jonathan Majors film Magazine Dreams (2025) will also debut that day.
Disney shelved the Majors’ film after his conviction for domestic assault. Briarcliff Entertainment picked up the film and will release it on the same day as his former employer’s pet project.
After so much controversy and hate, breaking even on Snow White could be the best Disney could hope for. It will allow the company to put this movie behind them and look forward to the slate coming out for the remainder of the year.
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