TheQuartering [9/26/2023]
Amid the ongoing controversy with lead star Rachel Zegler, it’s been revealed that Snow White will need to make a huge amount of money at the box office if it’s going to break even.
Disney’s Snow White live-action remake hit the headlines last month for all the wrong reasons after a 2022 interview of Rachel Zegler, who is taking on the titular role, did the rounds online. In the clip, she slams the original animated version as “weird, weird,” describes Prince Charming as a “stalker,” and jokes that his scenes will be cut from the movie.
She also describes changing the focus of the plot from true love to female empowerment. The internet has been up in arms ever since, with other resurfaced videos of Zegler doing the rounds online, old dramas being dragged up, and talks of boycotting the star’s next movie too.
But what about Snow White? Despite the vitriolic reaction, the movie hasn’t been cancelled, but there are talks of Disney fans boycotting the live-action remake. Which doesn’t bode well with current box office estimates.
A new report showing Snow White’s spending so far estimates that the Disney movie will need to earn approximately $336.4 million to break even – and that’s before factoring in a year of post-production and marketing that are likely to drive up the final spending figure significantly.
This is according to a new report by Forbes, which explains that while budgets are normally kept private when it comes to major studio films, much of Snow White was shot in the UK where productions can make use of the government’s Film Tax Relief scheme.
The scheme provides studios with a reimbursement of up to 25% of the funds they spend in the country, so long as it accounts for at least 10% of the project’s total costs. But in order for this to go through, they have to share financial statements breaking down where the money is going.