Film fans share pictures of empty Snow White screenings - but 'woke' remake still tops US box office

24 March 2025, 12:30

Film fans have shared pictures of empty Snow White screenings - but the 'woke' remake has still topped the US box office, despite bad reviews.

The live-action remake, starring Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot, was released in cinemas on Friday.

However, it saw a quiet opening weekend, with reports of zero tickets being sold for some screenings despite being in a prime weekend slot.

It comes after the film faced criticism for its 'woke' agenda, with some claiming that it was prioritised over authentic storytelling.

The world premiere was scaled back due to the controversy, with Disney instead favouring a "handful" of tightly controlled events.

The main event took place at the Alcázar of Segovia in Spain, which was the inspiration behind the castle in Disney's original animated film in 1937.

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One person posted on X: "Opening Friday night for Disney's Snow White in IMAX. Only ONE person bought tickets for tonight. Yeah this movie's gonna flop."

It was also a quiet Saturday for the film, with the same user saying: "And for Saturday night? ZERO. I've never seen a major movie from Disney have this little interest opening weekend. This is hilariously abysmal."

However, a former cinema worker said it may have been due to timings screenshotted.

"I worked at a cinema for many years," they said. 'You've screenshot for the 10.15 showing. That's pretty late, and usually has much lower attendance. The busiest time is usually the 7 o'clock hour."

Snow White took an estimated $87.3m (£67.5m) worldwide during its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

Almost half of that came from North America.

However, it is an overall low start for the remake, which is understood to have cost more than $270 million to make.

Reviews of the film have ranged from "exhaustingly awful" to "enchantingly refreshed".

The Times gave it one star, saying Disney has "trashed its crown jewel and its reputation".

It is "a new low for cultural desecration", they said, and the studio "infantilises global audiences with sanctimonious life lessons".

The Guardian also criticised the film, claiming Disney were "all too obviously agonising and backlash-second-guessing".

Meanwhile, the Metro praised Snow White, calling it "surprisingly one of its (Disney's) strongest and most worthwhile 'reimaginings' to date".

West Side Story actress "Zegler once again proves herself an enchanting talent with a voice to match, carefully avoiding falling into twee territory as the original Disney princess", they said, and "Gadot is clearly enjoying herself in the role of an iconic camp villain".