Photo:
Courtesy of Disney
Snow White is off to a sleepy start at the box office.
Disney’s live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic debuted in theaters across North America on Friday, March 21, and earned $43 million during its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.
The film is now one of the company’s lowest-earning live-action remakes, per data from the website, which tracks box office news, analysis and data.
Snow White, which cost an estimated $270 million to craft, per Forbes, was estimated to bring in $48-$58 million in its first weekend. (The film has so far made $87.3 million internationally.)
Still, Snow White surpassed Black Bag, which earned $4.4 million, and fellow Disney movie, Captain America: Brave New World, which brought in $4.1 million.
Courtesy of Disney
Rachel Zegler plays the titular princess, while Gal Gadot is the Evil Queen in the film.
Plans to remake Snow White were first announced in 2016, and Zegler, 23, was cast in the lead role in June 2021, ahead of her film debut in West Side Story.
“Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts. Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale,” director Marc Webb said of Zegler’s casting in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
As for Gadot, 39, taking on the infamous Evil Queen, the actress previously told PEOPLE in November 2021, “I’m so excited and I cannot wait to get into the shoes and the crown of the Evil Queen.”
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Andrew Burnap and Rachel Zegler in Snow White. Giles Keyte/Disney
Additional cast includes Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, Patrick Page as the voice for the mystical Magic Mirror and Tony winner Andrew Burnap as Snow White’s love interest, Jonathan.
Disney’s reimagining of Snow White faced its fair share of backlash before being released in theaters.
Ahead of the movie’s premiere, Zegler chalked up criticism over the live-action remake to “passion” for the film and its characters. While speaking with Vogue Mexico, the Spellbound actress said audiences feel protective over the famous princess as well as the original 1937 animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Snow White. Disney
“I interpret people’s feelings about this film as their passion for her and what an honor to be a part of something that people are so passionate about,” Zegler said in her interview. “We are not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us and all that we can do is do our best.” (Zegler’s interview was conducted in Spanish. Quotes were independently translated from Spanish to English by PEOPLE.)
Following her casting announcement in 2022, Zegler also dealt with racist backlash over her playing the Disney Princess while being of Latinx background. (Zegler is of Colombian and Polish descent.)
Snow White has also been called out by Peter Dinklage, who was born with a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. He accused Disney of “hypocrisy” over the upcoming film, citing the fairy tale’s “backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.”
Snow White is in theaters now.
