In truth, Disney’s live-action version of Snow White did not fare well, and its release earlier this year was already a financial disaster, with global revenues totalling just over $200 million. Nowhere near the $300 million it cost to produce, or almost double that if we include expected marketing.
Despite this, and all the criticism the film received, Disney chose to re-release Snow White over Mother’s Day weekend in the US, where it was shown in over 1,300 cinemas. The result? Well, according to That Park Place, it went pretty much as you’d expect. Theatres that were empty with a crushingly poor ticket sales rate that corresponded to just over $200,000, that is, about $50 per cinema – a figure reminiscent of Sony’s infamous Morbius re-release.
One might wonder if Disney even understands their audience, or what they were thinking when they chose to re-release what is probably their most derided and controversial film in a long time. The flops have followed one another with titles like Wish, The Marvels, The Little Mermaid, etc., and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the company needs to re-evaluate its strategy and try to return to what once made their films so beloved: timeless stories.
Also, don’t miss our review of Snow White, which you can read here if you missed it.