Rachel Zegler gives free tickets to the movie Snow...

Early box office projections have been revealed for Snow White, the live-action remake of the original animated film released by Disney in 1937. Rachel Zegler leads the cast of the reboot, portraying a live-action incarnation of the titular character.

Per Deadline, Quorum is tracking Snow White for a 3-day opening of $63-$70 million, though other sources are also predicting $65 million. The number is comparable to the 2014 release of the live-action Sleeping Beauty spinoff, Maleficent, which starred Angelina Jolie a the titular villain. That film opened to $69.4 million before going on to earn a total haul of $241.4 million domestically (and $758.5 million worldwide). The projected numbers would also set a new high for Zegler’s career if they pan out, as that would mark a stronger opening than her current record-holding film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which opened to $44.6 million.

These numbers come ahead of the imminent release of another big-budget Disney-backed film, Captain America: Brave New World. Set to premiere on Feb. 14, the MCU film is projected to open at around $85 million, which would mark the strongest opening of the year so far for the House of Mouse. The expected demographics are a bit different, however. Snow White filmgoers are projected to have women under 35 as the largest demographic, followed by women over 35, and then men under 35.

The opening numbers projected for Snow White are strong on the surface, but could be seen as an underperformer for Disney. According to reports, the film’s budget had grown to be close to $270 million by the end of 2023. The box office projections also fall short of matching other live-action Disney remakes like Beauty and the Beast ($147.7 million), Alice in Wonderland ($116.1 million), and Aladdin ($91.5 million).

Snow White Will Be Released in March After Multiple Controversies

It has not been an easy production for Snow White. The film has been plagued with multiple behind-the-scenes issues during the production process, going back early on when Rachel Zegler shared controversial opinions about the original animated film. Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage also publicly criticized Disney for making a movie featuring dwarf characters, arguing that this was taking a step “backwards” after making the progressive move of casting a Latina actor as Snow White.

“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,” a Disney statement noted at the time of the controversy. “We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”

Unfortunately, the ultimate unveiling of Snow White’s companions in the movie was not met with the warmest of receptions. They were revealed to be CG-animated characters, and many Snow White fans had expressed their disapproval of their design. Adding to the backlash was other actors from the dwarfism community who criticized Disney for animating these characters, arguing that it took major casting opportunities away.

Beyond these issues, the film was delayed multiple times. At one point during filming in 2022, the set literally caught on fire, though there had fortunately been no injuries to any cast or crew members. The movie was originally dated for a release in March 2024 before getting pushed back a year, a move that Disney attributed to the strikes of 2023.

Snow White will be released in theaters on March 21, 2025.