Snow White Flop Freezes Tangled Live-Action Remake

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Summary

  • Snow White‘s underperformance led Disney to freeze upcoming live-action projects, including Tangled.
  • Tangled was originally a promising project with modern appeal and potential big-name leads.
  • Competition from other studios puts Disney’s live-action adaptations at risk, waiting on Moana and Lilo & Stitch.

The movie “Snow White” hasn’t done well financially, falling short of expectations, and a recent analysis shows that this poor performance has made Disney hesitant about a future live-action adaptation, causing them to temporarily halt its production.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is famously recognized as the production that firmly established Disney as the beloved company we know today, being the first American-made animated feature film and the pioneer of traditional (or cel) animation. Therefore, when Disney unveiled plans for a live-action adaptation of this classic film, titled simply Snow White, it stirred controversy from the outset. Criticism ranged from disapproval over reimagining such a significant piece of animation history to remarks made by the film’s lead actress, Rachel Zegler. The movie finally premiered last month, and viewers were quick to criticize it for making substantial departures from the 1937 animated version.

It’s important to note that personal feelings don’t play a part here. Right from the beginning, it was evident that the box office performance of “Snow White” didn’t meet Disney’s expectations because it only managed to garner half its predicted opening earnings and struggled further. If “Snow White” had done well, there might have been a chance for a sequel. However, its poor performance seems to have affected another project negatively, rather than positively. According to an exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s live-action adaptation of Tangled has been put on hold indefinitely due to the disappointing showing of “Snow White”. The film had been under active development for quite some time now, with Michael Gracey as director and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson writing the script.

The Tanking Of Snow White At The Box Office Is Causing Disney To Rethink Live Action

Initially, Snow White faced criticism and doubts, whereas Tangled was generally well-received and had a promising outlook in terms of audience appeal and financial success. The 2010 release of Tangled, in particular, exceeded expectations, grossing over twice its $260 million production cost at the box office. This success led to a sequel and a three-season television series on Disney’s linear programming. Given that the Rapunzel story was already a contemporary reinterpretation, concerns about Snow White were irrelevant. Furthermore, whispers suggested that Disney might cast well-known actors for the lead role in Tangled, generating interest in an otherwise ordinary remake project amidst numerous other similar projects. Currently, Disney appears to be observing the performance of upcoming live-action adaptations of Moana and Lilo & Stitch before making a decision about Tangled.

Disney’s difficulties are exacerbated by the lineup of major franchise projects at Lionsgate and other rivals, who have acquired many popular intellectual properties for adaptations. Several of these will directly challenge Disney’s box office releases, casting doubt on the fate of their controversial live-action adaptations, particularly Tangled. Fans will need to observe how upcoming projects fare at the box office before they can gauge Disney’s plans for Tangled. Lilo & Stitch is set to be released soon, so fans won’t have to wait long.

Disney’s Snow White is currently available in theaters nationwide.

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2025-04-05 19:09