$350M ‘Snow White’ Loses Money At Box Office After Star Rachel Zegler’s ‘Woke’ Comments & Trump Criticism

Baila Eve ZismanApril 22, 2025, 11:00 pmNews >

What Disney expected to be its highly anticipated live remake of Snow White has yet to break even at the box office. The film, which premiered on March 21 and stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, had a budget of roughly $350 million to make and market, and has yet to reach $100 million at the U.S. box office.

Zegler’s remarks that criticized the original story’s plot line, which saw the protagonist kissed by her supposed prince, were met with immediate backlash from traditionalist Disney fans who insisted that the “woke mob” was attempting to corrupt history. Zegler gained still more scrutiny when she expressed her support for Palestine in the war in the Middle East.

Following disparaging comments about Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection, Disney allegedly hired a “social media guru” to vet Zegler’s posts. Zegler suggested that Disney viewed her as a liability, a theory Disney fueled when it proceeded to distance itself from Zegler with statements from anonymous sources that Zegler was the wrong choice for the role. It also scaled back the movie’s premiere to an afternoon event closed to the press, despite many of Disney’s other recently released family films being given traditional premiere parties.

The movie has earned $84.5 million in the U.S., and videos have surfaced online of people watching the movie in empty theaters. Although it fared better overseas, making about $100 million, with a worldwide box office haul of less than $185 million, the movie appears to have lost hope of turning a profit.

The lack of viewership is no doubt inspired by critics’ terrible reviews of the film, which scrutinize “misguided” and “miscalculated” filming decisions and performances from the actors. Quickly following the release of the movie, IMDb was bombarded by such an excess of negative reviews that the site flagged the movie for “unusual voting activity.” It presently sits at a rating of 1.6 out of 10 from IMDb users.

Regardless of the attacks on the film’s quality, many internet users have condemned the remarks the movie has garnered for its more progressive telling of the classic fairytale. Zegler, who is Latina, received a slew of hatred for taking on the role of the titular character (known for her white skin), as well as her comments that the story’s plot was in need of revision due to its “outdated” premises.