Snow White Aims to Outshine Dumbo at the Box Office Despite Mixed Reviews!

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After much anticipation, the long-awaited release of Snow White has hit the big screen, and while some critics have voiced mixed opinions, general audience feedback has been generally positive. The favorable response from audiences could lead to a larger box office performance than initially projected, putting it in competition with Tim Burton’s contentious adaptation of Dumbo. As a modern retelling of the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s latest take on Snow White has received more public scrutiny than any other live-action remake. Despite facing a wave of online criticism prior to its premiere, the movie is now being received well by audiences, albeit not with the same enthusiasm as a diamond in the dwarfs’ mine, but also not the catastrophe that some may have hoped or feared it would be.

According to CinemaScore, the movie “Snow White” received a B+ grade, which is the lowest score ever given to a Disney live-action remake. Previously, films like “Alice in Wonderland,” its sequel “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” “Dumbo,” and “The Lion King (Mufasa)” had scored lower A- grades. However, despite this low grade, “Snow White” seems set to achieve a minor success, as it earned $16 million on its opening day, surpassing the opening day earnings of Tim Burton’s “Dumbo” in 2019. Predictions suggest that “Snow White” will gross around $45 million over the three-day weekend, which would place it above the opening weekend grosses of movies like “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” “The Lion King (Mufasa),” “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” “Christopher Robin,” and “Pete’s Dragon.

As a die-hard movie enthusiast, I can’t definitively say whether Snow White will be a box office bomb or not just yet. In its opening weekend, Snow White is projected to rake in $45 million, surpassing the earnings of Mufasa: The Lion King, which was swiftly categorized as a flop a few months back. However, Mufasa: The Lion King had an iron grip during the holiday season and is now one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 2024. If word of mouth is positive, Snow White might also maintain its hold over the coming months, especially since schools across the nation are about to break for spring vacation. But it’ll need to be careful as a Minecraft Movie is scheduled for release in two weeks, which could give it some stiff competition.

‘Snow White’ Might Perform on Par with Other Pre-Disney Renaissance Remakes

Although some critics may attempt to claim that the low earnings of ‘Snow White’ are due to it being too politically correct or “woke,” this assertion is questionable at best and lacks factual support. Instead, it appears that both ‘Snow White’ and ‘Dumbo’ suffered from a similar issue: they were remakes of classic animated films originally produced in the 1930s and 1940s. These early Disney animations are among the most beloved in their library, but also tend to be shorter, with many lasting only about an hour. Additionally, some content in these older productions might now be seen as outdated or offensive. Updating these classics for contemporary audiences by extending their runtime and revising their content has led to certain challenges.

Although Cinderella and Maleficent, two modern takes on classic Disney tales, achieved significant box office success, they didn’t quite reach the billion-dollar earnings of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, all remakes from Disney’s 1990 animated films. After Dumbo underperformed at the box office in 2019 and Christopher Robin fell short in 2018, it seems Disney decided to stream adaptations of their pre-Renaissance films on Disney+, such as Lady and the Tramp (2019), Pinocchio (2022), and Peter Pan & Wendy (2023). On the other hand, movies like The Little Mermaid were granted theatrical releases.

It seems Disney may have assumed that Snow White, being their inaugural film and a classic Disney princess, would resonate more strongly with viewers due to her historical significance. However, the enthusiastic reaction to the trailer for the Lilo & Stitch remake surpassed that of Snow White, suggesting that Disney’s more contemporary animated masterpieces might have an unexpected allure when brought to life on screen, compared to those from the initial era of the Walt Disney Company.

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2025-03-23 02:04