Summary
Snow Whitehas underperformed at the box office to a disappointing degree, and a recent report confirms that this failure to deliver has given Disney cold feet about another upcoming live-action remake, forcing the company to put it on ice.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsis widely considered the project that really solidifiedDisneyas the company that fans know it as today, as it was the first animated feature film made in the US and the first ever to make use of what fans now know as traditional (or cel) animation. As such, it was a pretty big deal when Disney announcedSnow White,a live-action adaptation of the original film. The project drew criticism from the start, with reasons varying from indignation about the very idea of remaking such a pivotal part of animation history to comments made by the film’s lead, Rachel Zegler. The film would eventually hit theaters last month, at which point viewers were quick to dismiss the film and note that itmade some big changes from the original 1937 animated movie.
Fan opinion aside, it was clear from the start thatSnow White’s box office performance was falling short of Disney’s expectationswhen it only reached half its projected opening numbers and continued to flounder. WhilenoSnow Whitesequel couldhave potentially been adapted if the film succeeded, its failure seems to have found another project to impact instead, and not for the better. According to an exclusive report fromThe Hollywood Reporter,Disney’s planned live-action adaptation ofTangledhas now been put on pause indefinitely as a direct response to the poor showing ofSnow White.The film had been in active development for a while now, with director Michael Gracey set to direct with a script byThor 4scribe Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.
The Tanking OfSnow WhiteAt The Box Office Is Causing Disney To Rethink Live Action
WhileSnow Whitewas controversial from the start,Tangledwas in a much better space in terms of public perception and box office potential. The originalTangledfilm from 2010 was pretty successful, more than doubling its $260 million budget at the box office. Additionally, the film would spawn a sequel and a television series that ran on Disney’s linear programming for three seasons. Additionally, since the story was already a very modern take on the Rapunzel tale, complete with bog-standard digitally produced visuals, the concerns surroundingSnow Whitedidn’t apply in any way. Additionally, rumors were floating thatDisney was considering one or two big names for the lead role, which added some degree of anticipation to the otherwise unremarkable remake project amidst a sea of other similar remake projects. As things stand, the company is likely waiting to see how the upcoming live-action adaptations ofMoanaandLilo & Stitchfare before deciding onTangled.
Disney’s current woes are made even more critical bythe current slate of big franchise plans over at Lionsgateand other competing companies, all of whom have snapped up every notable bit of IP available for adaptations. A fair number of those will be directly competing with Disney’s offerings at the box office, making the future of the company’s divisive live-action adaptations even less certain. Fans will have to wait and see how the projects that are too far along to be canned perform at the box office to get a sense of what the company will decide concerningTangled.WithLilo & Stitchreleasing soon, fans won’t have to wait too long.
