NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 live-action, controversy-bedeviled opened in theaters with a sleepy $43 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
With a budget above $250 million, 鈥淪now White鈥� had set out with higher ambitions, particularly since it returns Disney to its very origins. The 1937 original 鈥淪now White and the Seven Dwarfs鈥� was the company鈥檚 first animated feature, and paid for its Burbank studio lot.
But this 鈥淪now White鈥� struggled to find anything like a fairy tale ending. The runup to release was plagued by controversies over the film鈥檚 handling of the dwarfs, who are rendered in CGI, and backlashes over comments by its star, . The PR headaches prompted Disney to pull back on its premiere.
Also working against the film, directed by Marc Webb: poor reviews. Critics were largely not impressed with Disney鈥檚 latest live-action remake, with reviews coming in just 43% 鈥渇resh鈥� on Rotten Tomatoes.
There鈥檚 been a wide variance between the box-office performance of other 鈥渓ive-action鈥� Disney remakes, but 鈥淪now White鈥� might mark a new nadir. Jon Favreau鈥檚 photorealistic 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� (2019) didn鈥檛 have great reviews, either, but grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide. 鈥淪now White鈥� opened worse than 鈥淒umbo鈥� (a $46 million opening in 2019) and well shy of 鈥淐inderella鈥� territory ($67.9 million in 2015).
Overseas, 鈥淪now White鈥� added $44.3 million for a global launch of $87.3 million. But going into the weekend, 鈥淪now White鈥� had been eyeing a worldwide total closer to $100 million 鈥� and a few weeks back, expectations were significantly higher.
The result will surely add to questions over Disney鈥檚 long-term strategy of mining its vault for live-action remakes. In the pipeline are upcoming new versions of 鈥淢oana" and 鈥淭angled." A live-action 鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� launches in May.
Efforts to modernize 鈥淪now White," though, quickly ran afoul. In 2022, actor Peter Dinklage criticized the remake plans as 鈥渂ackward.鈥� Disney ultimately opted to drop 鈥渁nd the Seven Dwarfs鈥� from the original's title, and animate the dwarfs. Some right-wing commentators targeted 鈥淪now White鈥� and Zegler's casting as an overly 鈥渨oke鈥� production. Delays and reshoots also ran up costs.
Disney, though, has recently steered a handful of films from modest starts to enviable final hauls. The Barry Jenkins-directed opened with $35.4 million domestically, but ultimately surpassed $717 million worldwide. 鈥淪now White鈥� will face little direct competition in the coming weeks. Audiences gave it a 鈥淏+鈥� CinemaScore.
Warner Bros.鈥� a period gangster film starring Robert De Niro in both lead roles, was a total misfire. The Barry Levinson-directed film, which cost about $45 million to make, opened with just $3.2 million from 2,651 theaters. The flop of 鈥淎lto Knights鈥� followed another misfire for Warner Bros. with Bong Joon Ho鈥檚 big-budget sci-fi In three weeks, it鈥檚 tallied $40.2 million domestically against a $118 million budget.
starring as a disturbed aspiring bodybuilder, opened with $700,000 for Briarcliff Entertainment in 815 locations. The film was dropped by Searchlight Pictures after Majors was of assault and harassment against Grace Jabbari, his ex-girlfriend. Majors avoided jail time but was given a year of probation.
The disappointment-filled weekend added to a rough 2025 so far for Hollywood. The box office is down 6.9% from last year, according to data firm Comscore, and 38.6% from 2019.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures releasing Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.
1. 鈥淪now White,鈥� $43 million.
2. 鈥淏lack Bag," $4.4 million
3. 鈥淐aptain America: Brave New World,鈥� $4.1 million.
4. 鈥淢ickey 17," $3.9 million.
5. 鈥淣ovocaine,鈥� $3.8 million.
6. 鈥淭he Alto Knights,鈥� $3.2 million.
7. 鈥淭he Day the Earth Blew Up,鈥� $1.8 million.
8. 鈥淭he Monkey,鈥� $1.5 million.
9. 鈥淒og Man,鈥� $1.5 million.
10. 鈥淭he Last Supper,鈥� $1.3 million.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
