Investing.com -- Disney’s Snow White live-action movie flopped at the box office this weekend as critics and political pundits ravaged the film.
The movie opened with just $43 million domestically and $87.3 million globally, below expectations of $48-$59 million domestically and $100 million globally. The total also pales compared to the nearly $200 million opening weekends for live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
Rosenblatt analyst Steve Frankel highlighted that domestically, the live-action remake opened well below The Little Mermaid ($95.5M), Maleficent ($69.4M), and Cinderella ($67.8M). Overseas, the international opening weekend was 19% below Dumbo and 23% below The Little Mermaid, he added.
The new $270 million adaptation of one of the studio’s most cherished classics sparked a series of cultural debates as it made its way to theaters, keeping many people away.
Latina actress Rachel Zegler plays Snow White in the film, causing immediate controversy with the New York Post (NYSE:POST) calling her “Snow Woke.” Not only did her skin tone cause a backlash, but Zegler also entered the political fray after insulting the original by saying it had “antiquated ideas about women in power.” Zegler later posted a statement on Instagram disparaging Trump supporters. “[M]ay trump supporters and trump voters and trump himself never know peace,” she said. The comments sparked outrage among conservative commentators.
The actress also entered the Israel-Palestine debate with opposing views to Isreal-born Gal Gadot, who plays opposite Zegler as the Evil Queen. In a social media post in August 2024, Zegler stated, "Always remember, free Palestine." Gadot, a former Miss Israel who served two years with the IDF, is an outspoken supporter of Israel.
Then there was the issue with the dwarfs. Famed actor Peter Dinklage called the studio backward in its thinking to produce the remake. “You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?,” Dinklage told podcaster Marc Maron in 2022 after the film was announced.
Shares of Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) fell modestly (-0.13%) in mid-day trading Monday.
This content was originally published on Investing.com
