Once upon a time, Disney knew how to tell stories that Americans actually wanted to watch. The 1937 animated “Snow White” essentially built the Magic Kingdom, a timeless tale that has enchanted families for nearly nine decades.
But somewhere along the way, the studio decided that classic wasn’t good enough. They knew better than the audiences who made them rich. And honestly? I wish I were making up what happened next.
A Poisoned Production
This wasn’t Disney’s first foray into ideologically-driven content — anyone paying attention over the past decade has watched the company lurch leftward. But “Snow White” might be their most spectacular act of self-sabotage yet.
Lead actress Rachel Zegler spent her press tour trashing the beloved original as “sexist” and “weird,” apparently unaware that insulting your potential customers is bad for business. She didn’t stop there.
On social media, Zegler declared, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” adding a profane dismissal of the president for good measure. But sure, it was the fans who were the problem, right?
The first trailer became one of the most disliked in YouTube history — 735,000 downvotes against a mere 69,000 upvotes. Fans recoiled at the creepy CGI dwarfs and the obvious contempt for the source material. Disney responded with frantic rewrites and expensive reshoots, throwing good money after bad.
Actor Peter Dinklage had publicly criticized Disney for remaking what he called a “backwards story,” prompting the studio to briefly replace the iconic Seven Dwarfs with diverse “magical creatures” before backtracking entirely. Because nothing says “we respect our audience” like calling the source material backwards. The production was chaos from start to finish.
The Final Tally
Let me be clear about what this disaster actually cost the House of Mouse. Thanks to UK film reporting requirements, we finally have real numbers. From Forbes:
The $336.5 million spent on Snow White is higher than the cost of Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, its Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel movie and its live action version of Beauty and the Beast which grossed a staggering $1.3 billion in 2017.
After UK government reimbursements and the standard theater revenue split, Disney’s total loss lands at approximately $170 million. The opening weekend came in 13 percent below forecasts, making it one of the five worst-performing live-action remakes in Disney history. Analysts are calling it one of the biggest box office bombs ever, in pure dollar terms.
Will Disney Learn?
Here’s what makes this particularly damning: just months later, Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake pulled in nearly $1 billion worldwide. Same studio, same remake strategy — vastly different results. The difference? “Lilo & Stitch” didn’t treat its audience with contempt.
The film has quietly vanished from Disney theme parks. Merchandise sits unsold. The “modern audiences” that Zegler and company were courting simply don’t exist.
Look, I don’t enjoy watching American institutions embarrass themselves. But this was entirely self-inflicted. All Disney had to do was honor the original, update the visuals, maybe add a song or two. Instead, they let activists hijack a beloved classic and paid the price.
Will they finally learn? History says no. But $170 million has a way of focusing the mind — even in Hollywood. Sometimes the free market delivers the happy ending that woke executives refuse to write.
Key Takeaways
- Disney lost approximately $170 million on its “Snow White” remake — one of Hollywood’s biggest bombs ever.
- Lead actress Rachel Zegler alienated audiences by trashing the original film and attacking Trump supporters.
- The film’s failure wasn’t “remake fatigue” — Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” earned $1 billion the same year.
- When companies prioritize ideology over entertainment, the free market delivers the verdict.
Sources: Breitbart, Fox Business, ScreenRant, OutKick
