Snow White has had a tough path to release. Long before the movie’s eventual release on March 21, 2025, the film was the subject of controversy. Part of this centered around the movie’s casting, which put Latina actor Rachel Zegler in the role of the тιтular princess, who was historically portrayed as a pale white woman. This racially charged backlash mirrors the vitriol following Black actor’s Halle Bailey’s casting in The Little Mermaid live-action remake, which came out in 2023. Unfortunately, it seems that some Disney audiences are still not able to accept race-blind casting.
The controversy did not stop there. Stars Zegler and Gal Gadot have been under fire for their pro-Palestine and pro-Israel political stances, respectively. These opinions have been the source of public debate and backlash on both sides. Snow White‘s portrayal of the dwarfs also spurned conflict, as the film ended up deciding to make them CGI beings rather than cast actors with dwarfism. Unsurprisingly, this seems to have had ramifications for the movie’s box office performance. Despite this rocky start and controversy, Snow White has now made it past an impressive box office milestone.
Snow White Joins The Highest-Grossing Musicals List
It Beat Out Last Year’s Mean Girls
The new live-action Snow White remake has now landed on a significant all-time highest-grossing movie list. A remake of the classic fairytale first put on screen in the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the 2025 rendition updates the story. Snow White has gotten mixed reviews thus far, getting a 40% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. ScreenRant‘s Rachel Labonte gave the movie 5 out of 10 stars, praising Zegler but noting the “villain falls flat” and the CGI dwarfs give the movie an “artificial sheen.”
Per The Numbers, Snow White is now in the top 40 highest-grossing movie musicals of all time at the domestic box office, taking the no. 38 slot. The remake beat the 1964 film My Fair Lady and the 2024 musical version of Mean Girls. At the time of writing, it has brought in a total of $77.3 million domestically, needing just over $3 million to surpᴀss the next movie on the list, Fiddler on the Roof.
What This Means For Snow White
Snow White’s Release Story Is Not All Positive
Snow White‘s box office story has not been all positive. The movie had a modest opening weekend, bringing in $42.2 million domestically. Compared to the box office of other Disney live-action remakes, this represents middling returns. Its $42 million debut gave Snow White the tenth-highest opening for any such remake, pᴀssing Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, but coming in below the 2019 Dumbo remake. Snow White has since slowed down at the box office, as the movie has currently amᴀssed just $168.6 million worldwide.
The 2025 remake has also faced significant backlash leading up to and following its release. Though its Popcornmeter sits at a respectable 72%, the movie has been getting review bombed on IMDb. As a result, the film has a 1.6 out of 10 score, with 91.1% of its ratings being 1-star scores. This vitriolic response makes it more impressive that Snow White was able to eke out a record of being one of the top 40 highest-grossing musicals of all time at the domestic box office.
Our Take On This Latest Snow White Record
The Movie Musical Is Getting More Popular
Snow White charting on the all-time musicals list comes at a fascinating time for the movie musical. Even as the Zegler-led film usurped Mean Girls‘s spot, four of the top 40 are currently 2024 releases. In contrast, there are only two 2023 releases on this box office list and no 2022 releases. This trend highlights an increasing interest in musicals, which may partially explain how Snow White has still found some success, despite the backlash.
This is particularly good news in 2025, as there is a notable slate of upcoming musicals headed for the big screen. These include animated and live-action musicals, the soonest of which will be Smurfs, which comes out in July. Animated musicals currently make up three of the top 5 highest-grossing musicals domestically, which bodes well for the CGI-live-action hybrid film. Later this year comes Wicked: For Good, which will almost ᴀssuredly do well, given the first movie’s success. Snow White could be ousted from the top 40 by one of these тιтles, but it should enjoy its success for now.
Source: The Numbers
