Snow White has not been the hit Disney expected, and the fallout of its disastrous box office performance puts more pressure on the studio’s next two live-action remakes. The practice of turning beloved animated movies into live-action features is something Disney has found a lot of success with over the last 15 years. Turning the crown jewel of Disney animated movies into a live-action movie was expected to be a guaranteed hit. Instead, Snow White‘s box office has been a mᴀssive disappointment.
While Snow White opened at #1 at the box office, it came in under projections with an underwhelming $42 million opening weekend domestically. The film has only made $146 million at the worldwide box office as it enters its third weekend of release. That currently makes it one of Disney’s lowest-grossing live-action remakes. And based on how little interest there is in it, the movie does not have a great chance of legging its way to box office glory. That’s not common for Disney’s live-action remakes, and the fallout of its failure is already sweeping through the studio.
Disney Is Beginning To Reconsider Its Live-Action Remake Strategy After Snow White
Tangled Has Been Put On Hold
One of the biggest dominoes that fell after Snow White was the report that Disney is no longer actively developing a live-action remake of Tangled. The studio began moving forward with plans to turn the 2010 animated movie into a live-action feature at the end of 2024, with The Greatest Showman‘s Michael Gracey attached to direct. No casting was ever announced for Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, or Mother Gothel. But, rumors suggested pop star and former Disney actress Sabrina Carpenter was among the names in consideration for the lead role. That’s all changed after Snow White.
Disney has now put a Tangled live-action remake on hold indefinitely. It’s unclear if the movie will ever see the light of day at this point. While Tangled is currently the only confirmed upcoming Disney live-action remake to have its fate now hanging in the balance, it probably isn’t alone. There have been announcements for live-action versions of Hercules, Robin Hood, The Aristocrats, and Bambi. Chris Hemsworth and Daisy Edgar-Jones were even set for a Prince Charming movie. None currently have release dates, and Disney probably isn’t eager to greenlight any in such a way right now.
It appears that Disney is finally taking a moment to reconsider their approach with live-action remakes after Snow White‘s performance. After all, it is not the only live-action remake that has not necessarily worked as of late. Mufasa: The Lion King was a box office hit, but it still came in well below 2019’s The Lion King. The Little Mermaid fared better than Snow White financially, but its $569 million box office haul is still considered slightly disappointing. Audiences have not been as receptive to these movies in theaters as of late.
Furthermore, Disney has only had three live-action remakes score 75% or better with critics on Rotten Tomatoes since this initiative began. Snow White is the seventh to score 40% or lower. Most get mixed reviews that skew either slightly positive or slightly negative. That didn’t affect Disney much when the movies were consistent box office hits. Now that they aren’t, Snow White has become the last straw. Disney is seemingly looking to re-evalute its strategy, and pausing a likely live-action hit like Tangled illustrates that.
Disney’s Live-Action Remakes Of Moana And Lilo & Sтιтch Are Coming Next & Could Determine The Future
Their Box Office Performances Become More Important For Disney
Disney taking its foot off the gas with these live-action remakes and reconsidering what to do going forward comes when they still have more coming up. The live-action Lilo & Sтιтch is slated for release on May 23, 2025. Then, the highly-anticipated live-action Moana will hit theaters on July 10, 2026. With major budgets attached to each, there was already a certain amount of pressure for them to succeed.
Lilo & Sтιтch and Moana now could be the movies that ultimately help decide what Disney will do with their live-action remakes. If both of these movies underperform too, Disney will have to take a hard look in the mirror and may need to find a way to revamp this approach to making movies. The alternative, which seems less likely, is that Disney may need to abandon making live-action remakes of its animated movie library completely.
Disney will have to consider any damage being done to its brand and relationship with audiences if audiences continue to reject these movies
It is worth noting that Disney is slowly running out of bigger animated movies to do live-action remakes of. They’ve done most of the classics to this point, which is why they’ve already moved onto modern hits like Moana. While there are still potentially lucrative live-action remakes to make, such as a live-action Frozen, Disney will have to consider any damage being done to its brand and relationship with audiences if audiences continue to reject these movies.
Lilo & Sтιтch And Moana’s Live-Action Remakes Are Poised To Be Mᴀssive Box Office Hits
Disney Is Bound To Have A Lot Of Reasons To Celebrate Soon
It’s never a good time for a studio to have a major box office misfire like Snow White, but Disney is in about as good a spot as possible to rebound quickly. That’s all thanks to the box office potential that exists with Lilo & Sтιтch and Moana as live-action remakes.
Lilo & Sтιтch is already expected to be one of the biggest movies of 2025. It’s opening over a holiday weekend, which will help bolster its totals. Furthermore, Lilo and Sтιтch are beloved characters. The movie has also avoided the controversies that hurt Snow White. The original animated Lilo & Sтιтch only made $273 million at the box office, so it’s not a property that screams significant box office potential. But with the characters becoming more iconic since then and the positive response to Lilo & Sтιтch‘s live-action trailer, it’s in a great spot to be a mᴀssive summer hit.
While I could see a world where Lilo & Sтιтch makes $1 billion at the box office, the live-action Moana is a much safer bet to hit that mark and give Disney a mᴀssive hit. The original animated movie made $643 million, and the sequel just made over $1 billion despite being originally developed as a TV show. Moana is one of Disney’s most iconic characters, and with Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui in live-action, there’s a clear path for Moana‘s live-action remake to be one of 2026’s biggest box office hits.
Disney Might Not Learn Any Necessary Lessons From Snow White If Lilo & Sтιтch And Moana Are Successful
It Will Be Easier For Disney To Overlook Recurring Issues
Snow White‘s disappointing performance and reception is indicative of some recurring issues with Disney’s live-action remakes. It would actually be good for Disney to reconsider how they’re approaching these movies and figure out how to keep costs down to lower box office expectations, stay true to the source material, and make these movies feel fresh to modern audiences. Tangled‘s delay indicates that Disney may be willing to do it. But all that could go out the window after Lilo & Sтιтch and Moana.
The likelihood of Lilo & Sтιтch and Moana being major box office hits means Disney can easily shrug off Snow White‘s underperformance. They will likely get two movies that are so successful that it will suggest that Disney’s live-action remake strategy is working. It will be much easier to ignore problems when they are fresh off two potentially $1 billion hits. That will signal to Disney that it’s not time to slow down it’s live-action remake pipeline or make changes. They’ll want to double down and do even more, even if some more films like Snow White happen.
