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Credit: DisneyOn March 21, 2025, one of Disney’s most controversial live-action remakes to date was released in theaters — Snow White. Disney first confirmed the remake all the way back in 2016, but it went through a lot of ups and downs before it finally made it to the big screen. The film was originally slated to come out in 2024, but Disney pushed it back, with many speculating that it was due to the constant bad press and controversy.
When Snow White was finally released, it did just about as well as everyone expected — which means it absolutely bombed. The movie made just over $200 million at the box office, but it would have needed to make nearly double that for the film to break even. Overall, it is predicted that Disney will lose more than $100 million on the princess story.
Related: Rare Warning Issued After Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Tanks at Box Office
While Disney would probably rather forget Snow White’s box office performance, something unexpected has happened. And this time, it’s actually a good thing.
The live-action remake hit Disney+ on June 11, and despite the backlash and poor reviews, fans decided they really wanted to watch it. In just two days, the movie shot to number one on the streamer.
While it’s highly unlikely that the streaming numbers would be enough to make a dent in the losses Disney suffered, it is still a positive thing that fans are interested in watching.
Related: Walt Disney’s Original ‘Snow White’ Discovered, Authenticated
Some Disney live-action remakes have been met with controversy, but it was mainly due to changes made to the original story. However, with Snow White, many of the issues revolved around Rachel Zegler, who played the titular princess.
Right off the bat, racist trolls attacked Zegler — who is Polish and Colombian — for not being white enough to play Snow White. Fans stood behind Zegler and called out the critics on their racism. Unfortunately, Zegler soon turned many of those fans against her when she made a number of controversial comments.
Zegler consistently criticized the original story, saying that her version of Snow White would be more proactive and not simply let things happen to her. She also indicated that Snow might not even need a prince, going so far as to call him a stalker.
Related: Rachel Zegler Attacked by Iconic Producer’s Son, Blames Her For ‘Snow White’ Struggles
Zegler’s behavior after the film was released continued to deteriorate the actress’s public image. She thanked fans for making Snow White the number one movie the weekend it was released, but it still performed incredibly poorly. She also continued to act like nothing was wrong and that the movie was going to be a huge hit.
Snow White is currently streaming on Disney+ and still performing well. The film has always done better with audiences than with critics. It currently sits at a 39% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 71% audience score.
Do you find it surprising that Snow White is doing so well on Disney+? Have you seen the movie? Do you think it deserves all the hate it’s getting? What about Rachel Zegler’s performance? Was she a good Snow White? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!