Last month, Disney delayed the upcoming Snow White remake by an entire year amid a seemingly endless stream of negative headlines. However, in a bid to ease the minds of those angry about rumoured changes to the classic story, the studio shared a whimsical shot of Rachel Zegler's Disney Princess surrounded by the Seven Dwarfs.
Unfortunately, the rough state of the visual effects has led many to speculate the image was thrown together in a hurry and that the characters will be added to the movie in reshoots which will more than likely take place between now and the movie's new March 2025 release date.
A report from Forbes has resurfaced today which reveals that Snow White will need to make at least $340 million to break even.
That doesn't sound too bad, right? The Little Mermaid grossed $569.6 million earlier this year and, based on financial statements acquired by the site, $209.3 million was spent producing Snow White. That's a sizeable budget which was helped by $41.1 million in reimbursement cash from the UK’s Film Tax Relief initiative.
That takes those costs down to $168.2 million, but as this report was originally published in September, it likely doesn't take into account what are rumoured to be some pretty extensive reshoots.
Another recent rumour claimed Snow White's budget has ballooned to $330 million, with an alleged insider claiming, "Disney had to delay Snow White because they have spent so much money on it, and if it is a financial disaster at the box office, it might single handedly cripple future remakes and potential Snow White sequels that they have planned."
"They also have to remove themselves from the bad taste in the mouths of online critics and want to instead deliver a great film and get to a point where they get it right. They realize that they were overthinking things and are now reigning it all in a little bit more."
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and we are expecting reshoots - which began and were then halted by the Hollywood strikes - will now continue in a bid to salvage the movie. Zegler is currently doing the rounds to promote The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so common sense says someone will eventually ask her to weigh in on the backlash, much of which has been aimed at her for past comments about the original 1937 classic.
Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) directs Snow White from a screenplay by Barbie director Greta Gerwig and playwright Erin Cressida Wilson.
In terms of cast, the movie stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, Martin Klebba as Grumpy, and Andrew Burnap as Jonathan.
Snow White is now set to be released in theaters on March 21, 2025.