Snow White‘s disappointing box office performance means that it probably will not achieve a rare Disney live-action feat. With Snow White‘s budget reportedly being between $240 and $270 million, the live-action remake already had a high bar needed to break even, let alone to make a profit. Even before the movie was released, Snow White‘s various controversies dominated the discourse, which made its box office prospects even more challenging.
During its opening weekend, Snow White‘s box office grossed $87.3 million worldwide, including $44.3 million domestically. The Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot-led movie has now reached $181.6 million worldwide (via The Numbers), and while the theatrical run is not over, it is still far from breaking even with its production budget. This means that the live-action Snow White is unlikely to join a select group of Disney’s live-action remakes.
Only 4 Of Disney’s Live-Action Remakes Have Ever Gotten Sequels
This Includes 101 Dalmatians & The Lion King
101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and The Lion King are the only Disney live-action remakes to receive a sequel, which puts these four movies in an elite category of their own. Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and the 2019 The Lion King both grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. This led to Disney greenlighting the sequels Alice Through the Looking Glᴀss and Mufasa: The Lion King, with Mufasa acting as both a prequel and sequel to its live-action predecessor.
Disney Live-Action Movie |
Disney Live-Action Sequel |
---|---|
101 Dalmatians (1996) |
102 Dalmatians (2000) |
Alice in Wonderland (2010) |
Alice Through the Looking Glᴀss (2016) |
Maleficent (2014) |
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) |
The Lion King (2019) |
Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) |
Neither 101 Dalmatians nor Maleficent crossed the $1 billion mark, but they still performed well. This is especially true of Maleficent, which grossed $758.5 worldwide against a production of $180 million (via The Numbers). None of these live-action sequels earned as much as the previous movie, but Mufasa: The Lion King‘s box office did end up doing exceptionally well despite a slow start, with the movie making nearly $721 million worldwide against a $200 million budget.
Snow White Is Not Going To Be Successful Enough To Warrant A Sequel From Disney
The Story Will End With The 2025 Movie
Snow White‘s box office performance will not give Disney the confidence to greenlight a sequel. Since Alice in Wonderland, Disney has only greenlit sequels for live-action remakes that were mᴀssive box office successes and there is no indication that the studio will be changing this trend any time soon. It also does not help that Snow White‘s reviews have been largely negative, and without a strong box office or a strong reception, there is little reason to convince Disney that they should be invested in a sequel.
With Snow White‘s ending seeing the тιтular princess (Zegler) restoring peace to the kingdom and the Evil Queen (Gadot) being defeated, the remake has concluded the primary conflict, and does not end with a cliffhanger that demands a sequel. Of course, the same could be said for 101 Dalmatians, Maleficent, and The Lion King, with their sequels happening primarily because of their predecessors’ financial success. Snow White will not be joining the ranks of Maleficent and The Lion King and the remake of the 1937 classic will ultimately be a standalone story.
Source: The Numbers, The Numbers