Disney’s live-action Snow White is surprisingly still chasing a box office milestone the movie already should’ve beaten at this point. The live-action remake of 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was subject to plenty of controversies before its release, and that undoubtedly played a role in the 2025 release not delivering the box office results it expected. Disney made the movie with a mᴀssive $200+ million budget with the belief that turning the studio’s first animated movie into a new, modern hit, replicating the success of the original film.

Instead, Snow White‘s box office performance has been a struggle. The movie opened below projections and then had a record second-weekend drop for Disney’s live-action remakes. It’s more common than not for these movies to be mega performers financially. Any hope of the film having surprisingly strong legs and potentially turning into a minor success is gone. That’s left Snow White in a position where it has failed to achieve an important box office milestone after over two weeks in theaters and making $169 million.

Snow White Still Hasn’t Beaten The Original Animated Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs At The Box Office

The Original Movie’s Total Box Office Is Debatable

Snow White‘s $169 million box office total leaves the film behind how much the original 1937 movie made at the box office. Traditional box office websites like Box Office Mojo and The Numbers have Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs making $184 million and $187 million, respectively. Both totals are still more than what the live-action remake has made. Snow White is $15M-18M away from pᴀssing the original animated movie’s box office total then based on traditional box office reporting.

However, it’s also worth noting that there is also a possibility that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs‘s box office total might actually be $418 million. This is due to Henry Wilhelm’s book “The Permanence and Care of Color PH๏τographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures.” In it, the author stated that Disney’s re-releases of the animated film helped it make over $375 million by 1987. Following the 1993 re-release, that total would then rise to $418 million if Wilhelm’s reporting is accurate.

In that case, Snow White‘s box office gap from the original animated movie becomes a lot more substantial. Instead of being less than $20 million away, Snow White is still $249 million behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the box office. And all of these box office figures for the animated movie don’t even take inflation into account, which would bolster the 1937 movie’s total drastically.

Snow White Struggling To Beat The Animated Movie’s Box Office Is Uncommon For Disney’s Live-Action Remakes

Most Easily Surpᴀss The Originals

The struggle for Snow White to beat the animated movie’s box office is not something Disney expected. As a live-action remake of the studio’s crown jewel, there was an expectation that it would be a huge hit. At the very least, Disney’s history with live-action remakes indicated that the 2025 film should have little trouble making more than the original. Of the Disney live-action remakes that got wide theatrical releases, 15 of 19 made more than the animated movie they were based on. Snow White was expected to be the 16th.

This makes Snow White one of four Disney live-action remakes that has not beaten the original animated movie at the box office. Two of them were from Disney’s first three such films and before this became a core part of Disney’s strategy. Interestingly, the other two are Disney’s most recent remakes, Snow White and Mufasa: The Lion King. While The Lion King‘s box office total has grown through various re-releases, Mufasa’s prequel still is $50 million behind the 1994 animated film’s original worldwide gross.

Will Snow White Even Beat The Animated Movie’s Box Office?

It Really Depends On Which Figure Is Accurate

The challenge for Snow White beating the original animated movie’s box office will largely come down to what figure becomes the benchmark. The $184M-$187 million total is more commonly referenced, and that is a bar that Snow White could achieve. Even with big drops, it’s still only been in theaters for less than a month. Its continued domestic and international presence should help it make the roughly $20 million it needs to beat the 1937 movie’s box office at some point in the next week or two.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs‘ $418 million total is not one that the live-action remake will come close to, though. The 2025 release could struggle to crack $200 million at this point. Snow White certainly will not double its box office total from this point.