Entertainment
‘Snow White’ Faces Another Box Office Setback, Loses Top Spot Amid Controversy
“Snow White” no longer is the fairest of them all on the box office. The Disney live-action remake that features Rachel Zegler was surprisingly bumped off its No. 1 position in its second weekend in theaters. In a surprise, the new Jason Statham action film “A Working Man” led the domestic box office with a haul of $15.2 million in its opening weekend, while “Snow White” earned another $14.2 million in its sophomore weekend, based on estimates provided by Comscore.
For “Snow White,” this represented a steep drop from the film’s opening $42 million last weekend. How rapidly a film tanks in its second weekend can be an indicator of whether it is likely to hold its own in the weeks ahead, and this is thus a troubling sign for Disney.
The container workplace starting of “Snow White” closing week was already deemed a letdown relative to how other Disney stay-movement remakes have fared. The stay-motion “The Little Mermaid” debuted with $95.5 million in three days, even as “Beauty and the Beast” debuted with $174.7 million, “Aladdin” debuted with $ninety one.Five million and “Cinderella” debuted with $sixty seven.Eight million, based on Box Office Mojo.
‘Snow White’ controversy, explained
“Snow White” opened in theaters after being plagued by means of controversy for years with the whole lot from its representation of the seven dwarfs to the casting of Zegler, who is Colombian and Polish, as Snow White. Zegler also disenchanted some Disney fanatics by using calling the romance within the authentic “Snow White” “bizarre,” and she made headlines for her strong reviews at the Israel-Hamas warfare and the 2024 presidential election.
After thanking fans for watching the “Snow White” trailer a year ago, the “West Side Story” star wrote on X, “And always remember, free palestine.” Zegler then posted on Instagram in November that she wished President Donald Trump and his base “never know peace.” She later apologized for the latter.
In a since-removed Instagram comment last week, the son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt, Jonah Platt, faulted Zegler’s political comments for the box office underperformance of the film. He criticized the actress for “dragging her personal politics into the middle of marketing the movie” and stated this “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
“Tens of thousands of people labored on that film and she hijacked the discussion for her own childish needs at the expense of all the co-workers and staff and blue collar individuals who rely on that picture to succeed,” Platt continued.
It’s doubtful whether the “Snow White” performance would also imply that audiences are beginning to lose some interest in Disney live-action remakes. But if so, it should reveal itself very soon, since Disney has another one pending for this summer: “Lilo & Stitch,” which hits theaters in May. A live-action remake of “Moana” is also planned for July 2026.
