Disney's Biggest Live-Action Flop Defended by Star After Bombing at the Box Office: "It Was #1!" Actorsvaultpro

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? According to the box office, it wasn’t Snow White. However, after becoming one of Disney’s biggest bombs in years, the live-action remake still has a stalwart defender in its leading star, Rachel Zegler. Of the many live-action remakes of animated Disney classics, Snow White sits towards the bottom, along with 2022’s Pinocchio and Tim Burton’s Dumbo. The film was the ire of a lot of unfair criticism ahead of its release. But, once it opened in theaters, so too did the floodgates for negative reviews, backlash from fans of the original, and a general tidal wave of hate (which is all too common on the internet nowadays). But still, in spite of all of that, Rachel Zegler is still proud of the movie, loudly proclaiming it to be a success.

While speaking to Glamour magazine, Rachel Zegler reflected on Snow White‘s icy reception at the box office and her personal experience shooting the movie. “I love that film,” she began. “I’ve seen it a few times.” Unfortunately, she was one of only a few who saw it a few times, as it grossed just $87 million domestically, with a further $118 million internationally (that’s $205 million for those who can’t be bothered to do the maths). $205 million doesn’t sound like chump’s change. But when it’s leveled against the film’s budget of $270 million, it’s easy to see how Snow White was a major flop — if only the magic mirror could have predicted that one.

Even with the film’s low box office take, Rachel Zegler still believes the film was a success, thanks in large part to streaming. “It was number one on streaming on Disney+, so I know that it’s celebrated,” she continued. Snow White did soar to the top of Disney+ upon its streaming release. However, it didn’t rule over the kingdom for long, and was quickly dethroned from the top spot. Zegler continued, describing the biggest lesson she took from shooting Snow White:

“What I took away from it is just to really, really soak in when it feels good and understand that it’s possible when it feels bad. The beautiful thing about Evita for me—beyond all of the wonderful people I met and all of the wonderful work we’re doing—is that I never thought I would be a part of something so celebrated, because of the way that I’ve been conditioned to believe that I wouldn’t be.”

Live-Action Disney Remakes Aren’t Stopping Anytime Soon

Dwayne Johnson voices Maui in Moana 2

Disney

You’d think the failure of Dumbo, Snow White, and several other live-action remakes would have taught Disney a lesson about remaking their classic animated films. But, as Star Wars fans have learned all too well, when the House of Mouse spots a cash cow, it’s going to milk it dry.

Next up to bat is the live-action remake of Moana, starring Catherine Laga’aia as Moana, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role of Maui from the animated movies. Following Moana (which releases in 2026), live-action remakes of Tangled, Hercules, and (somehow) Bambi are also in the works, although those three movies don’t yet have release dates.