Snow White’s 2025 live-action adaptation is facing a torrent of negative reviews from both critics and audiences. The film, expected to build on the success of classic Disney animated films, is failing on both financial and critical fronts.
Disastrous Box Office and Review Scores
The 2025 live-action Snow White, based on Disney’s classic animated version, currently holds the lowest critical scores for any Disney film. On IMDb, Snow White has a dismal 1.7/10 rating from nearly 110,000 reviews, with 93,000 reviews scoring just one star, equating to an 86% negative score. Rotten Tomatoes reports a mere 42% positive rating from critics. Even audience scores on Metacritic are low, with a 1.2/10 rating.
Financially, Snow White has grossed a paltry $87.3 million globally, falling significantly short of its projected $100 million target. Domestically, the film has earned only $43 million. With a production budget nearing $270 million, Snow White faces a significant uphill battle in recouping its costs.
Reasons for the Disappointment: Script and Casting Choices
Several key factors have contributed to the disappointment surrounding Snow White:
- Uninspiring Script: Many viewers felt the script lacked compelling originality and lacked any significant deviation from prior adaptations. The film’s attempt at a narrative shift was viewed negatively by audiences.
- Controversial Casting Choices: Casting a non-white actress as Snow White, traditionally depicted with “snow-white” skin in the original story, has sparked backlash from a segment of viewers. Hollywood Reporter also cited a lackluster script as a contributing factor to the film’s poor reception.
Comparison to Previous Disney Live-Action Films
Disney has enjoyed considerable success with other live-action adaptations, such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Maleficent, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. However, Snow White has failed to match those previous successes. These prior films boasted significantly higher box office numbers than the Snow White adaptation.
Conclusion
The live-action Snow White is facing significant challenges. The combination of low box office, negative reviews from critics and audiences, raises questions about the quality of the production. Disney needs to thoroughly analyze the factors behind this disappointment to effectively strategize for future projects.
