Box Office: Snow White’s weekend actuals fall short, placing it in potential bomb territory amid high stakes; READ

The live-action Snow White struggles with an underwhelming weekend haul, raising concerns over its box office fate amid a hefty budget and mixed audience reception.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 25, 2025 | 11:11 AM IST | 7.7K

Picture Courtesy: Disney

Not all was well for Snow White on Sunday when it debuted behind expectations in both domestic and international territories. The much-anticipated Disney title made USD 43 million in the U.S., and while it was expected to cross USD 100 million globally, it instead came in at USD 87.3 million.

Final weekend numbers released on Monday showed the figures dropping even lower, with a USD 42.2 million haul in the home market and USD 43.9 million overseas, for a global total of USD 86.1 million.

While these cuts wouldn’t normally spell trouble for a female- and family-targeted offering, Snow White has found itself in potential bomb territory due to its hefty production cost of USD 250 million—before another USD 100 million or so in promotional costs.

Based on initial ticket sales and mixed word of mouth, the live-action remake of the 1937 Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs may struggle to reach USD 300 million or USD 400 million globally—well short of the box office safety net of USD 500 million or more. Consider 2019’s Dumbo, with a USD 170 million budget, debuted at USD 45 million domestically and peaked at USD 353 million.

Disney fans, however, would disagree with the trend and instead compare Snow White to another Disney outing, Mufasa: The Lion King. When the Christmas 2024 tentpole opened to USD 35.4 million domestically, several in the media immediately wrote it off. Yet, the live-action film went on to gross seven times its opening number, topping out at nearly USD 218 million globally.

Elemental was another film that Disney successfully revived post-release, earning five times more than its investment before becoming a streaming sensation.

The big difference between these films and Snow White, however, is that they weren’t burdened with underwhelming exit scores. Snow White is a rare Disney live-action property to receive a B+ CinemaScore from audiences.

Additionally, Snow White had to navigate controversy surrounding its leads, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, who play the titular character and her evil stepmother, respectively. Zegler faced backlash for calling the original classic “weird” during a red-carpet interview, while Gadot sparked discussions with her Zionist views.

With so much surrounding Snow White, it will be interesting to see where it lands at the box office by the end of its run. Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for all the updates, as we are the best when it comes to tracking and reporting the theatrical business of not only Hollywood but also regional cinema.