“Snow White” is no longer the fairest of them all at the box office.
The Disney live-action remake starring Rachel Zegler was unexpectedly unseated from its spot at No. 1 during its second weekend in theaters. In an upset, the new Jason Statham action movie “A Working Man” topped the domestic box office charts with $15.2 million in its first weekend, while “Snow White” grossed another $14.2 million during its sophomore frame, according to estimates from Comscore.
For “Snow White,” this was a sharp decline from the film’s initial $42 million debut last weekend. How steeply a movie declines in its second weekend can be indicative of whether it will continue to perform well in the weeks to come, making this a worrying sign for Disney.
The box office debut of “Snow White” last week was already considered a disappointment compared to how other Disney live-action remakes have performed. The live-action “The Little Mermaid” opened to $95.5 million over three days, while “Beauty and the Beast” opened to $174.7 million, “Aladdin” started with $91.5 million and “Cinderella” opened to $67.8 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
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‘Snow White’ controversy, explained
“Snow White” arrived in theaters after being plagued with controversy for years due to everything from its depiction of the seven dwarfs to the casting of Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, in the lead role. Zegler also angered some Disney fans by describing the love story in the original “Snow White” as “weird,” and she made headlines with her outspoken views on the Israel-Hamas war and the 2024 presidential election.
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After thanking fans for watching the “Snow White” trailer last year, the “West Side Story’ star wrote on X, “And always remember, free palestine.” Zegler later posted on Instagram in November that she hoped President Donald Trump and his supporters “never know peace.” She apologized for the latter remarks.
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In a since-deleted Instagram comment last week, Jonah Platt, son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt, blamed Zegler’s political statements for the film’s box office disappointment. He slammed the actress for “dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie” and said this “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
“Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful,” Platt added.
It’s unclear if the “Snow White” performance could also suggest audiences are starting to lose some interest in Disney live-action remakes. But if that’s the case, it should become clear soon, as Disney has another one on the slate for this summer: “Lilo & Stitch,” which opens in May. A live-action remake of “Moana” is also set for release in July 2026.
Contributing: Edward Segarra
