Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the biggest box office flop of them all? Well, it turns out Snow White just took home the crown—and not in a good way.
Disney’s highly controversial live-action Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, has reportedly taken a massive poisoned apple bite out of the studio’s wallet, with losses expected to hit a staggering $115 million after global home entertainment, TV, and Disney+ revenue streams are accounted for. And that’s according to distribution sources from Deadline. Oof.
Once Upon a (Costly) Time…
Let’s break this tragic fairy tale down. The movie, which stumbled into theaters with all the grace of Dopey on roller skates, managed to scrape together a $225 million worldwide box office total. That’s including an estimated $100 million from the domestic box office, which—brace yourself—is less than the $115 million made by Dumbo (yes, Dumbo). Internationally, it fared slightly better at $125 million, but still not enough to keep the magic alive.
A Not-So-Happily-Ever-After
In its second weekend, Snow White experienced the kind of dramatic decline usually reserved for evil queens falling off cliffs—plummeting 66% to a weekend total of just $14.2 million. That’s the box office equivalent of a poisoned apple straight to the gut.
And let’s talk numbers:
– The film cost Disney a whopping $270 million to make.
– Another $111 million was spent on global promotions (which, ironically, may have hurt it more than helped—looking at you, Zegler).
– An extra $29 million in various expenses rounds out the financial catastrophe.
All in all? Snow White needed a fairy godmother, and fast.
Can Disney Find a Magic Potion?
Despite the financial carnage, Disney is hoping the film finds a second life on Disney+—because everyone loves a good underdog story, right? And hey, maybe it’ll have a secret weapon: merchandise sales. (Because what kid doesn’t want a doll from a movie they didn’t watch?)
Still, with a $115 million loss, Disney executives are probably gathering in a dark castle somewhere, staring at their bank statements like, “Magic mirror on the wall, what the heck just happened to us all?”
