According to Deadline, the box office tracking firm Quorum reports that early box office tracking estimates that Snow White could open between $63 to $70 million over the three-day box office weekend of Mar. 21, 2025. This would easily be the biggest opening weekend for star Rachel Zegler, whose previous winner was The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which opened to $44.6 million in November 2023. This would put it on par with fellow Disney live-action remake Cinderella, which opened to $67 million on March 13, 2015, and grossed $201 million domestically and $542 million worldwide.
In terms of Disney’s live-action opening, a $63 to $70 million would put Snow White somewhere in the middle. It certainly is a far cry from the opening weekends for movies like The Lion King ($191 million), Beauty and the Beast ($174 million), Alice in Wonderland ($116 million), The Jungle Book ($103 million), The Little Mermaid ($95 million), or Aladdin ($91 million). However, it would be on par with Maleficent ($65 million) and above Dumbo ($45 million), Christopher Robin ($24 million), and Pete’s Dragon ($21 million). It would even open higher than Mufasa: The Lion King, which was initially written off as a flop when it grossed $35 million in its opening weekend but, over the holiday season, defied expectations and grossed $230 million domestically and now stands as the tenth highest grossing movie of 2024.
The “Controversy” Around ‘Snow White’ Might Not Be Real
The controversy around Snow White has primarily been centered on and targeted at lead actress Rachel Zegler. Similar to when Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, much of the criticism of Zegler was rooted in racism. Zegler’s outspoken nature, one to tackle the criticism head-on, has made her an even bigger target for online trolling. Critiques the star made about the Snow White ride at Disneyland were twisted into her criticizing the original movie, leading to plenty of misinformation. Zegler also made a post criticizing voters of Donald Trump, which she then deleted and apologized for, which has led to Snow White being more a part of a culture war. Yet, the early tracking for Snow White shows there is still substantial interest in the movie, especially among women under 35, women over 35, and men under 35. Snow White should also benefit from being a major family movie released when some schools nationwide are on spring break. Snow White will need to hold well at the box office to make back its reported $240 million budget, but it looks like it could have a promising start. Disney, at least, has the added benefit of Snow White merchandise, which could make the investment in the film worth it in the long run.
