After years of controversies and tepid results at the box office, Disney’s 2025 live-action “Snow White” remake has reportedly netted an approximately $170 million loss.
Forbes reported on Tuesday that filings indicate the recent controversial live-action “Snow White” remake cost a whopping $336.5 million, yet met with low returns after years of controversy.
The outlet explained that this can be discerned thanks to the fact the movie was filmed in the United Kingdom. The U.K. has local laws which benefit films with a generous reimbursement, but come with heavy rules. As a result, Disney had to create a subsidiary company, Hidden Heart Productions, in order to film there. As a result of these local U.K.-based rules, showing expenditures that otherwise remains a closely-guarded secret for films made in the United States, Disney’s massive expenses were revealed.
“In 2023 this author revealed in Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper that by July 31, 2022 Disney had already spent a staggering $183.3 million on making Snow White even though principal photography had only just wrapped,” contributor Caroline Reid wrote. “The latest set of filings are for the year to December 31, 2024 which was less than three months before the movie debuted so should give an almost-complete picture of its costs.”
The writer went on to emphasize, “The $336.5 million spent on Snow White is higher than the cost of Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, its Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel movie and its live action version of Beauty and the Beast which grossed a staggering $1.3 billion in 2017.”
The United Kingdom indeed came through with a reimbursement for Disney, but the writer argued this was not enough to redeem the production.
“The U.K. government also gave Snow Whitea magic touch as it reimbursed $64.9 million (£52.3 million) of the movie’s costs. This brought its net expenses down to $271.6 million but even that wasn’t enough to give it a happy ending in theaters,” Reid quipped.
Then, with the costs of bringing the movie to theaters themselves, a new level of complexity was added to the expenses.
“The amount that theaters pay to studios is known in the trade as a rental fee and an indication of the typical level comes from film industry consultant Stephen Follows who interviewed 1,235 film professionals in 2014 and concluded that, according to studios, theaters keep 49% of the takings on average,” Reid summarized. “This research lends weight to the widely-established 50-50 split which would give Disney just $102.9 million from Snow White yielding a $168.7 million loss at the box office after deducting the $271.6 million net spending on the movie.”
“One of the biggest box office bombs in the history of the movie business, in pure dollar value terms,” OutKick reported.
But beyond financial woes, the remake of the iconic film has had its fair share of cultural controversies.
In 2022, Peter Dinklage criticized Disney for remaking a “f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together,” while being progressive with its casting of lead actress Rachel Zegler.
Disney then reportedly responded in 2023, at least temporarily, by replacing the dwarfs with multiracial and gender-mixed “magical creatures.” This plan was later scrapped in lieu of using computer-animated mythological dwarfs who looked like those featured in the original animated film.
Zegler also stirred controversy by speaking ill of the original 1937 film, criticizing Israel, and posting on social media, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” adding, “F— Donald Trump.”
Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
