The newly released Disney's live-action remake Snow White recently opened in theaters. However, its opening box office numbers failed to meet the projections.
The film ended up grossing $43 million in its opening weekend, which is below the $50 million projections that box office analysts predicted in the days leading up to its release.
Let's explore the reasons why the new Disney film is underperforming at the box office.
The Controversies Surrounding the Stars
In the months leading up to the film's release, stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot were involved in controversies that may have affected the audience's interest in seeing it in a theater.
Zegler has been criticized for her past remarks regarding the original animated film and her reaction to last year's US presidential election. While the online attacks against her might be unfair, the noise was too loud that it made a mark among the general audience.
Meanwhile, Gadot's consistent support for Israel amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been a subject of contention among fans. It even led to protests when she received the Hollywood Walk of Fame star last week.
Disney Live-Action Remake Fatigue
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney's live-action remakes of animated films used to be certified box office juggernauts as some of the titles managed to gross more than $1 billion despite their critical reception.
However, that is no longer the case in the current landscape as films such as The Little Mermaid ($569.6 million) and Mufasa: The Lion King ($718 million) failed to match the pre-pandemic records.
Audiences may have fatigue now on watching the live-action remakes in the theater and they would rather wait and watch it once it becomes available on Disney+ months later.
Lukewarm Reception
Snow White has received mixed reviews from critics. As of the writing of this article, it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 44% while the audience score is at 74%.
The film's lukewarm reception could have also contributed to the film's underwhelming box office as it doesn't exhibit confidence among the audiences that it is worth watching.
While it has a solid CinemaScore of B+, it may not encourage enough audiences to see it in the theater and they would rather watch a different tile instead.
Lack of Star Power
Some have argued that Snow White's lack of star power may have contributed to the lack of interest from the audience to see the film.
While Zegler and Gadot have starred in blockbuster movies before, none of them are considered to be major stars that have box office draws unlike some of the past live-action remakes that managed to recruit A-listers such as Will Smith, Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, and Johnny Depp.
Disney relied heavily on nostalgia and IP familiarity to promote the film during the marketing campaign.
The Absence of Familiar Tunes
Disney movies are always associated with memorable and catchy songs that usually become chart-topping hits and sung by millions of audiences worldwide that would last for generations.
However, that is not the case for Snow White in both the original animated classic and the live-action remake as it doesn't have any iconic song that audiences would listen to non-stop on their favorite streaming music platform.
There is no unique music hook that would make it memorable enough for the audiences and lead to a major phenomenon similar to what happened in films such as Frozen, Aladdin, The Lion King, and more.
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