One Month Later, Disney’s 87-Year Legacy Has Been Tarnished Forever

Disney’s Snow White (2025) is officially coming to an end, and its troubled journey at the box office will close on a massive low for The Walt Disney Company.

The live-action reimagining of the 1937 animated classic entered theaters last month under intense scrutiny and towering expectations. Originally slated for a 2024 release, the film finally arrived on March 21, 2025—a full year later than planned. Yet despite the additional time, Snow White faced an uphill climb with moviegoers.

At the center of much of the conversation is Rachel Zegler, cast as the beloved princess. The actress became a focal point after comments she made in 2022 resurfaced, in which she described her take on Snow White as more independent and less focused on romance.

Zegler remarked that her Snow White would not be dreaming about true love or waiting for a prince to save her, suggesting the original prince character resembled a stalker—remarks that quickly sparked backlash from fans who felt the movie was straying too far from the heart of the classic fairy tale.

The screenplay, crafted by The Girl on the Train scribe Erin Cressida Wilson, embraces a modern retelling of the iconic story. However, this updated approach has been divisive. Along with Zegler’s interpretation of the princess, critics have pointed to casting choices, the depiction of the dwarfs, and the overall creative direction as points of contention.

In more recent interviews, Zegler has acknowledged the uproar, expressing that much of the criticism likely stems from fans’ deep-rooted emotional connections to the 1937 film.

Adding to the behind-the-scenes drama were reports of strained relations between Zegler and co-star Gal Gadot (Evil Queen), due in part to their conflicting political stances. Those tensions became more apparent when premiere events in Europe and the United States were significantly scaled back and marketing efforts reduced.

A feature story published by Variety last month offered further insight into the difficulties surrounding the film’s release. A key turning point came when Zegler posted a “Free Palestine” message on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after unveiling the official Snow White trailer.

The October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel reignited global conversations about the Israel-Palestine conflict, putting added attention on Zegler’s post. For Gadot, an Israeli-born actress and former member of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), her support for Israel became another layer of controversy affecting audience perception.

Early box office forecasts painted a challenging picture, predicting a modest $53 million domestic debut against the film’s reported $270+ million production budget. Those projections ultimately proved optimistic, as Snow White launched with just $42 million in North America and has only reached $182 million globally to date.

Now, over a month since its opening at the global box office, the live-action Snow White movie has tarnished the 87-year legacy that the original animation began in 1937. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is known for being the first-ever animated feature film and the movie that launched the Disney animated classic canon–a pipeline that is still ongoing.

According to Box Office Mojo, the global haul for Disney’s Snow White is $194,769,639, based on $85,294,172 domestic and $109,475,467 international. Per Forbes, this is way off base for a break-even for the House of Mouse, which takes into account the average 49% of ticket sales movie theaters keep; “Assuming an approximate 50-50 split means that Snow White needs to gross at least $427.8 million for Disney to cover its costs at the box office,” Forbes wrote.

Joining Zegler and Gadot in the film are Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, Jeremy Swift as Doc, Andrew Barth Feldman as Dopey, Tituss Burgess as Bashful, George Salazar as Happy, Martin Klebba as Grumpy, Andy Grotelueschen as Sleepy, and Jason Kravits as Sneezy.

Disney Shifts Focus to Another Live-Action Remake

Another live-action project, Lilo & Stitch, is preparing to make waves at the box office. Initially developed for Disney+, the project pivoted to a theatrical release during production, much like Moana 2 (2024), and it’s showing early signs of major success.

With its Memorial Day weekend premiere fast approaching, Lilo & Stitch is projected to dominate the holiday frame. According to Deadline, “Six weekend-in-advance tracking has hit for both movies on Quorum, with Lilo & Stitch eyeing a $100M+ 3-day opening and [Mission: Impossible 8] eyeing a record 3-day for the franchise, well north of 2018’s Mission: Impossible–Fallout’s $61M.”

Whether Snow White can find a second life on Disney+ or in international markets remains to be seen. What’s clear is that Disney’s live-action strategy is entering a period of reevaluation, with audiences becoming increasingly vocal about how these treasured classics are reimagined for new generations.

How do you feel about Disney’s Snow White? Let us know in the comments below!