Disney May Completely Erase “Woke” Films After ‘Snow White’ Failure

Disney used to dominate the box office with almost every theatrical release. From Frozen (2013) to The Lion King (2019) remake and nearly every Marvel Studios project in between, the company couldn’t seem to miss.

But now? The tide has turned.

With Snow White (2025) joining The Marvels (2023) in the flop category, Disney may be forced to take a hard look at what it’s been doing—and make some drastic changes.

Let’s be real: Snow White should’ve been a slam dunk. A live-action remake of the very first Disney animated classic? With the studio’s marketing machine and a legacy character like this, it should have printed money. Instead, it’s projected to lose over $100 million. And for Disney, this failure might actually be more influential than The Marvels disaster—because it’s not just another movie. Snow White was supposed to be a crown jewel.

And that’s exactly why Disney might be hitting pause on all things “woke.”

From The Marvels to Snow White — The Pattern is Getting Hard to Ignore

After the disappointing performance of The Marvels starring Brie Larson, Disney started to recalibrate. Projects across the Marvel Cinematic Universe were delayed, shuffled, or quietly canceled. The idea was simple: slow down, reassess, and get back to storytelling that actually works. Now, we’re watching something similar unfold in Disney’s live-action remake division—except this time, the shakeup may go even further.

The studio has already pumped the brakes on its planned Tangled live-action film. That’s not a coincidence. It’s more likely that Disney’s executives are beginning to recognize a pattern. Controversial off-screen comments, divisive rewrites of beloved classics, and marketing that pushes a political agenda over magic and heart—it’s not selling. And when a movie that should’ve been an easy hit crashes this hard, it sends shockwaves.

Why This One Hurts Disney More Than Usual

What makes Snow White such a disaster for Disney is that the backlash wasn’t just about the film itself—it was fueled by its lead actress. Rachel Zegler repeatedly trashed the original animated movie in interviews, calling Prince Charming a “stalker” and mocking the love story. She even said she found the original movie “scary” and “weird.” That alienated longtime fans before a single frame of the film hit the screen.

Sure, Brie Larson rubbed people the wrong way with her comments ahead of Captain Marvel (2019), but she didn’t go after the franchise itself. Rachel Zegler, on the other hand, undermined the very foundation of what Snow White means to generations of fans. And when your star publicly mocks the original, it’s no surprise that families stayed home.

Disney May Finally Be Learning the Lesson

The box office numbers don’t lie. Snow White brought in just $2.8 million in its fourth weekend, struggling to hit $200 million globally against a budget of more than $270 million. Compare that to The Marvels, which also flopped but still did slightly better with a $206 million worldwide gross. Neither number is anything to celebrate, but Snow White was supposed to be different—it wasn’t part of a cinematic universe or weighed down by franchise fatigue.

It was Disney doing Disney. Or at least, that’s how it should’ve felt. Instead, it was Disney trying to rebrand its classics for a generation that didn’t ask for them to be changed. When the audience doesn’t show up, you either double down or pivot. And it sure looks like Disney is finally choosing the latter.

They paused Tangled. Insiders are even saying that Disney is “reassessing” the creative direction for future remakes, especially when it comes to characters and narratives that were originally rooted in timeless fairy tales and moral lessons, not modern ideological battles.

Back to the Magic?

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that Disney might finally be reminded of its roots. Walt Disney built his empire on timeless stories that focused on love, family, bravery, and wonder. Nobody went to Cinderella (1950) or The Little Mermaid (1989) to hear a lecture—they went to feel something. To believe in something.

And that’s what Disney seems to have lost somewhere along the way. In chasing headlines, hashtags, and progressive reimaginings, the company forgot what made its stories resonate in the first place. With Snow White collapsing at the box office, Disney may now be forced to re-center and go back to making movies that feel like… well, Disney.

Audiences aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking for sincerity. They want characters to root for, villains to fear, and endings that feel earned. The sooner Disney stops trying to rewire its classics and instead focuses on quality storytelling, the sooner the magic can return.

And if that means scrapping a few projects that were leaning too far into the political spotlight? So be it.

Because if Snow White taught Disney anything this year—it’s that even a legacy character isn’t safe from failure when you forget who your audience is.