Box Office: Snow White begins global rollout today ahead of Friday release; Analyzing its pre-sales

Disney’s Snow White live-action remake opens March 21 amid controversies and mixed pre-sales, aiming for a USD 100M debut. Can it revive the sluggish box office?

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 19, 2025 | 11:11 AM IST | 1.7K

Picture Courtesy: Disney

Disney’s highly anticipated live-action remake Snow White is all set to debut in theaters on Friday, March 21, with a global rollout that began today, Wednesday, March 19. The movie is expected to provide some much-needed relief to the box office, which has been hit with multiple below-par performances in the year's first trimester.

After Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World failed to impress the moviegoing community in a way that would have been favorable, all eyes are on the Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot starrer, which is projected to log a domestic weekend of USD 50 to USD 60 million and earn around the same amount internationally, bringing its worldwide haul to potentially touching or even breaching USD 100 million.

Spoiler alert, though—the industry is betting on these numbers solely in anticipation of huge crowd turnouts, while pre-sales tell a less optimistic story. Currently, pre-sales for Snow White are similar to Mufasa: The Lion King at the same point before release, which would put the former film’s opening closer to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil than to Dumbo. The Angelina Jolie venture debuted with USD 37 million domestically in 2019, while Dumbo earned USD 45 million in its opening weekend the same year.

The Snow White live-action remake has garnered positive reviews from critics after its recent Los Angeles premiere, following a string of controversies attached to it since its inception. First, Zegler, who plays the titular character, upset fans by criticizing the iconic 1937 version of the film. Then, Disney made creative choices that pushed buttons even further. Gadot, for the record, plays Snow White’s evil stepmother. Andrew Burnap also stars in the offering as Snow White’s love interest.

Plans for a remake of the much-celebrated Disney tale were announced in 2016, with Erin Cressida Wilson attached to write the screenplay. Marc Webb entered talks to helm the endeavor in May 2019 and was confirmed for the role in September 2019. Filming took place in London between March and June 2023, with additional taping in June 2024.

The European premiere for the film took place on March 12 at Spain’s Alcázar of Segovia, which served as inspiration for the castle in the original animated film. The aforementioned Hollywood premiere took place on March 15 without a regular red carpet press event, seemingly to avoid any more negative chatter around the film.

Will Snow White be able to overcome controversies and fare well at the box office amid no strong competition—at least until A Minecraft Movie arrives on April 4? Only time will tell!