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Credit: DisneyTo say the odds are stacked heavily against Disney’s Snow White remake with Rachel Zegler, Andrew Burnap, and Gal Gadot is a glorious understatement, but this adaptation of Little Snow White by the Brothers Grimm might come with more than just a heavy production price.
It’s no secret that Marc Webb’s Snow White (2025) has essentially been doomed from the start. With scandals surrounding reports of toxic and unprofessional behavior of its lead actress and the removal/inclusion of the seven dwarves and dwarf actors and everything else in between, Disney will be lucky if its reputation survives with a shred of dignity.
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Few things in the entertainment industry have united audiences more than the hate for this movie, but the studio might soon face a bigger problem than another box office bomb. It’s going to stab Disney right in the wallet.
Snow White Stops Future Disney Productions
Any studio as big as Disney spends millions and millions of dollars to make their movies happen, an investment that they tend to make back in ticket sales, merchandise, and more. However, it will take nothing short of pure Disney magic for Snow White just to break even.
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A recent report from Forbes stated that the dreaded Disney remake will have to make a minimum gross of $340 million dollars just to stay afloat. Some might just shrug that factor off as another flop for the studio, shrug their shoulders, and just wait for the next offering from the Walt Disney Company, but they’re missing the bigger picture.
For the past few years, it seems Disney has had to contend with not one but multiple failed features at the box office. Strange World (2022) might be the most grievous offender since The Black Cauldron (1985), but if Snow White doesn’t break even with that previously mentioned figure, the studio will do far more than push back release dates.
Disney might receive a consistent cash flow from parks like Disneyland, the Walt Disney World Resort, and even Disney+, but the movie is shaping to be a more significant financial loss than the studio can handle. This might not drive the company to bankruptcy, but it will be a loss that will affect the future of multiple projects.
Even without Snow White on the table, it takes a lot of money to get any Disney movie, live-action or animated, off the ground. If Disney takes a financial loss this massive, it could be years before fans see another major motion picture from the studio.
A Disney Drought?
The fact of the matter is that if Snow White bombs as badly as some are predicting, we could be looking at a potential Disney movie drought until they can make that money back. It won’t kill the production company but will drastically delay or potentially cancel any upcoming projects with a large budget.
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Disney has already upset its release calendar, postponing films like Pixar’s Elio to compensate for Snow White’s recent backtracking. If the upcoming adaptation fails, the studio will definitely do it again.
Disney has had a production drought before, and it likely won’t be the last. After the death of Walt Disney, the studio had a series of moderate and low-performing projects. Between 1977 and 1989, Walt Disney Animation had a series of hit-and-miss films that sometimes went as much as years between regular releases. In this writer’s opinion, we are seeing it happen again.
The film Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) expands on this phenomenon in further detail, but there’s definitely a pattern here. Zegler’s Snow White might not be Disney’s lowest moment, but the ripple effect it creates might be felt for years after.
Are you prepared for a “Disney drought?” Tell Inside the Magic in the comments below!