Box Office: Disney’s Snow White underwhelms with USD 87.3M worldwide opening, falling short of expectations

Snow White launched at USD 87.3M globally, which is lower than expected. Disney will now hope the film will gain momentum in the coming weeks with no immediate rivals.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 24, 2025 | 11:11 AM IST | 13K

Picture Courtesy: Disney

Trouble seems to be brewing for Disney’s Snow White live-action remake, which made its way to global theaters on Friday, March 21, after fielding multiple controversies since its inception. The production, made on a USD 250 million budget, was aiming for a USD 100 million worldwide debut, but its three-day total peaked far below that at USD 87.3 million.

USD 43 million of the cume came from domestic ticket sales—enough to put it at the top of the box office but not enough to touch even the lower end of the home market prediction of USD 45 million. Overseas, Snow White took in USD 44.3 million.

The relieving news: The film will have no competition until Warner Bros.’ kid-friendly A Minecraft Movie arrives on April 4. Moreover, the entry is hoping to emulate the sluggish but steady tempo of Disney’s Christmas tentpole Mufasa: The Lion King, which debuted to USD 35 million but recently sprinted past USD 700 million globally.

About the aforementioned controversies—directed by Marc Webb, Snow White first faced flak for its color-blind casting, with fans expressing discontentment over a Colombian actress getting the part of Disney’s fairest princess. For those unversed, Rachel Zegler plays the titular character in the film. Subsequent negative chatter included conversations over the Mouse House reimagining the iconic dwarfs and Gal Gadot’s Zionist views. The latter plays the Evil Queen in the feature.

The weekend was even worse for other movies.

Warner Bros.’ The Alto Knights, featuring Robert De Niro, bombed in its opening to USD 3.2 million in North America and a mere USD 5.1 million globally against a USD 45 million budget. The film was directed by Barry Levinson from a script by Nicholas Pileggi.

Jonathan Majors hoped to make a comeback in showbiz with Magazine Dreams, but the film only grossed USD 700,000. Searchlight had shelved the venture after the actor’s legal troubles.

Black Bag took the second spot with USD 4.4 million for a domestic tally of USD 14.9 million. Warner Bros.’ Mickey 17 came in at No. 4 with USD 3.9 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of USD 40.2 million, followed by Paramount’s Novocaine with USD 3.8 million for a USD 15.8 million domestic haul.