Disney’s Snow White Faces Challenges Ahead of March Release

BURBANK, Calif. — Disney is set to release its live-action adaptation of Snow White on March 22, 2024, following the recent debut of Mufasa: The Lion King. Directed by Marc Webb and featuring a screenplay co-written by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, the film aims to capture the attention of family audiences across generations.

The upcoming adaptation hopes to attract mother-and-daughter pairs as it vies for box office success amidst a relatively open market. Historically, mid-March has been a favorable release window for Disney, with past successes like Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. However, this year presents competition in the form of two family-oriented films: Lionsgate‘s faith-based movie and a live-action/animation hybrid from Sony.

Despite its potential appeal, Snow White’s box office prospects may be complicated. The recent release of Paddington faced challenges opening with $12.7 million, and if the film’s performance mirrors that of Paddington 2, which struggled to recover after a disappointing start, Disney may face hurdles. In addition, the trend of animated remakes has evolved since their commercial peaks in the 2010s, as evidenced by the stark contrast in recent box office numbers.

The domestic openings for Disney’s remakes, including Mufasa: The Lion King, illustrate this shift. Mufasa opened at $35.4 million in contrast to the 2019 version of The Lion King, which debuted at $191.7 million. As a remake of an iconic Disney film, Snow White holds an advantage over Mufasa concerning box office potential, given that sequels have generally underperformed compared to their originals.

Despite this edge, experts suggest nostalgia alone may not propel Snow White past the $100 million mark during its opening weekend. Star Rachel Zegler has not seen a film open above $50 million, although her previous work, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, displayed strong earnings with a domestic total of $166.3 million.

As the release date approaches, industry watchers will be keenly observing Snow White’s performance in theaters, especially in light of Disney’s recent history with live-action remakes. Earlier in 2023, The Little Mermaid experienced a relatively successful run, opening near expectations and continuing to perform strongly in theaters.