Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Disney’s pointless new live-action Snow White, which has had a worryingly sleepy opening weekend. Much of the blame lies with its hand-wringing “woke” updates: Snow White becomes a socially conscious girl boss, the life-saving kiss is mired in consent debates, and the dwarfs are blank CGI monstrosities.
But this is far from the only recent misstep as a panicked Hollywood walks the culture wars tightrope with all the grace of a drunken elephant. The worst examples have been soundly punished at the box office (or, in the case of TV and music, with dwindling streamer views and sales), exemplifying the aphorism “go woke, go broke”. Beware the poisoned apple of empty virtue-signalling.
Ghostbusters (2016)
Never mind the ectoplasm-spewing phantoms: the scariest aspect of the doomed all-female reboot of the 1980s sci-fi franchise was the furious fan response. The trailer became the 18th-most-disliked video on YouTube, collecting over one million dislikes, and the movie bombed, losing the studio more than $70 million.
If the film had actually been any good, it would have justified the gender-swap controversy. But even with a stellar lead cast – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones – it simply wasn’t funny. A comedy can change the world, but first it needs decent jokes.
Despite the hilarious cast of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, the 2016 Ghostbusters remake severely lacked decent jokes – Sony/AP
Eternals (2021)
Are Marvel’s days of ruling the planet coming to an end? There’s nothing super about its last few cinematic outings, with their painfully clumsy attempts at political correctness. Even bagging an Oscar-winning indie director, Chloé Zhao, couldn’t save tiresome demigod blockbuster Eternals.
Though the marketing trumpeted the project’s big names (Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kit Harington), diverse supporting cast and sensitive East-West fusion, the resulting film was a convoluted mishmash – and, most unforgivably, boring. It grossed a limp $402 million against a £236 million budget, showing a chink in Marvel’s previously impenetrable armour. A planned sequel was swiftly shelved.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Harrison Ford returned for a belated fifth outing as the whip-cracking archaeologist, however this disappointing slog betrayed the studio’s crisis of confidence. Yes, the familiar tropes were there – booby-trapped dungeons, evil Nazis – but Ford awkwardly shared hero duties with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag-esque Helena Shaw, Indie’s renegade goddaughter.
It just called attention to the physical limitations of the octogenarian Ford, plus poor Indie was further undermined by the script’s critique of these treasure-hunters “stealing” artefacts from indigenous people. So much for popcorn entertainment. The film grossed just $384 million worldwide, losing Disney an estimated $143 million.
Charlie’s Angels (2019)
The original 1970s TV series was a frothy, big-haired delight, and the frenetic 2000 movie version benefitted from the celebrity cachet of Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore. But a 2019 reboot notably failed to kickstart the franchise, grossing just $73 million – a dismal return on a combined production/advertising budget of around $100 million.
Directed by Elizabeth Banks, this feminist yet utterly featherweight Charlie’s Angels managed to annoy everyone. Kristen Stewart’s character was supposedly, but not demonstrably, queer, and the film championed sisterhood without bothering to establish believable chemistry between its three angels. It never earned its wings.
Lightyear (2022)
A same-sex kiss scnene saw Lightyear banned in China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – Film Stills
Disney has struggled to maintain its commercially savvy political neutrality in this fraught climate, and instead suffered a string of flops. Progressive but poorly received projects include 2023 animation Elemental (a strained immigration analogy), 2024 Star Wars TV show The Acolyte (cancelled after one season), and a catastrophic Toy Story spin-off.
Lightyear lost Disney an estimated $106 million after numerous nations, including China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, banned the movie because it featured a lesbian kiss. There was also anger about the recasting of Buzz: outspoken progressive Chris Evans took over from popular Right-wing actor Tim Allen. Lightyear was lost in space.
Doctor Who (2005-present)
The BBC’s regenerated sci-fi juggernaut is in trouble. The much-heralded first female Doctor led the weakest seasons to date – though actress Jodie Whittaker wasn’t to blame, but patronising writing which weakened the character and lectured the audience about prejudice.
During, and after, the Jodie Whittaker era, Doctor Who has struggled to transcend patronising, woke writing – James Pardon/BBC
The problem has persisted following Whittaker’s exit: there’s a wearying focus on gender identity, with the Doctor less interested in saving the world than in checking an alien’s preferred pronouns. No wonder current star Ncuti Gatwa is reportedly on the way out amid dwindling viewing figures and rumours that the show could be mothballed.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (2023)
This joyless Paramount+ prequel series definitely wasn’t the one that we wanted. The idea had promise – a return trip to Rydell High to discover the origin story of the too-cool-for-school girl gang – but the execution was simply dismal. Greased lightnin’ did not strike twice.
Instead of that heady mix of earworm songs and sexy, risk-taking, cigarette-smoking rebellion, viewers had to endure earnest discussion of race, gender, class, sexuality and social justice, along with Glee-style glossy pop. Unsurprisingly, following an F-grading from irate critics and viewers alike, the show was cancelled after one season.
Katy Perry’s album 143 (2024)
Katy Perry’s attempts at making a feminist statement in the music video for Woman’s World ended in condemnation and mockery – Katy Perry/Youtube
It was the tone-deaf comeback that made us wish she would go away again. Perry clutched at relevance by duetting with transgender pop star Kim Petras, and preaching girl power with lead single Woman’s World. But the much-mocked music video featured Perry in a skimpy bikini grasping sequinned power tools; she feebly claimed this titillation was satire.
There was also the issue of her cheerleading feminism while collaborating with infamous producer Dr Luke, who has been accused of sexual assault (he denies the allegations). This faux-woke experiment led to poor album sales and reports of cancelled dates on Perry’s Lifetimes tour.
