Disney’s live-action Show White is off to a solid start at the domestic box office despite being laden with controversy.
The event pic earned $3.5 million in Thursday previews to place ahead of fellow live-action remakes 2015’s Cinderella ($2.3 million) and 2019′ Dumbo $2.8, not adjusted for inflation, and come in not that far behind DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s 2024 box office win Kung Fu Panda 4 ($3.8 million) and Disney’s 2014 Maleficent ($4.3 million).
If preview numbers are are any indication, the movie has every chance of crossing $50 million and spark a turnaround at the lagging 2025 domestic box office. Globally, it is targeting a debut of $100 million or more despite a not-to-welcomed Rotten Tomatoes score of 46 percent (Jon Favareu’s billion-dollar blockbuster The Lion King was hardly hurt by a RT critics score of 51 percent.)
Among other Disney live-action princess remakes, Beauty and the Beast astounded when opening to $174.6 million domestically in mid-March 2017, not adjusted for inflation. In spring 2015, Cinderella debuted to $67.9 million domestically; Maleficent launched to $69 million in May 2014 (the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil stalled at $37 million). In terms of other comps, Dumbo was a major disappointment in starting off with $46 million, Kung Fu Panda 4 strutted to $58 million.
Snow White arrives in theaters loaded with baggage after being buffeted by delays and controversy again and again, beginning with a backlash over casting Zegler in the titular role because of the color of her skin (she is of Colombian descent). She’s also made no secret of her support of the Palestine people. And Israeli co-star Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, has come scrutiny for her remarks regarding the Gaza conflict.
Box office sources say awareness and interest is solid-to-strong among girls, women of all ages and families. The movie has virtually no immediate competition and will have access to all 400 Imax screens and numerous other premium large-format screens, which are a boon for any title. And even rival execs say exhibitors are keen on the pic, which will be on the marquee throughout spring holidays.
Snow White faced numerous delays due to the pandemic and labor strikes — is unfurling in virtually every territory, save for a few Middle Eastern markets because of Ramadan.
