The news broke earlier this week that the brand new Snow White live action remake by Disney is set to lose an astonishing $115million (£90million) at the box office.
The film, which has been shrouded in controversy since its very conception, has simply not enticed audiences enough for them to rush to the cinema to see it – and even those that have had very little praise for it. With terrible reviews and a shocking 1.6 out of 10 IMBD score, many are blaming lead actress Rachel Zegler for its failure. But why?
23-year-old, Zegler, who stars as Snow White, faced criticism from the moment she was cast as many fans were against the Columbian-Polish actress’ casting, with critics claiming that her Latina heritage doesn’t align with the original film’s main character and her “skin as white as snow”.
The actress was quick to clapback at the criticism, writing on X: “Yes I am snow white no I am not bleaching my skin for the role.” Later, she thanked those who had supported her but asked not to be involved in what she branded “nonsensical discourse” regarding her casting.
In just 24 hours of the trailer for the Snow White remake trailer going live, the video gained 120 million views. Zelger took to X to thank the public for all of their support and followed up with a second post immediately after which read: “and always remember, free Palestine.”
Consequently, the star was thrown into a social media storm as thousands slammed her for making her political views about the Israel-Gaza conflict public.
Then, in November 2024, she made her views on the election of Donald Trump as US President known in a series of X posts, writing “F–k Donald Trump” and “may Trump supporters … and Trump himself never know peace.” Once again, she was blasted for her political views and accused of potentially isolating a huge section of Snow White’s target audience just months before its release. She later apologised for these comments admitting that “my emotions got the best of me”.
Now, with the film in cinemas and predicted to lose nearly half of its estimated $240million (£186million) budget – which made it one of Disney’s most expensive live action remakes to date – people are blaming Rachel Zegler for its flop. Last month, Marc Platt’s son even chimed in on the debate, accusing Zegler of “narcissism” and “dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract” in a now deleted Instagram comment.
He wrote: “This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office. Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.” Platt concluded his post, saying: “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
Does Zegler deserve all the blame for the live action remake tanking at box office? Well, many people are saying no. In fact, the general discourse surrounding the film has been overwhelmingly negative from the very start, even before the series of controversies surrounding Zegler’s comments.
Audience fatigue of re-hashes of classic films has been prominent over the past years, as live action remakes of Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) and The Little Mermaid (2023) faced criticism, indicating that Snow White’s release was never to be as highly anticipated as the film makers may have hoped.
Plus, the film’s early decision to use CGI to create the famous seven dwarfs, rather than casting actors with dwarfism, drew wide criticism from audiences. Writers were also slammed for including the storyline of the “seven dwarves living in a cave together” in a modern and supposedly “progressive” retelling of the story at all, with leading figures like Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage calling the whole concept “f—ing backwards”.
Not every film can be successful as its makers intend for it to be. Therefore, it doesn’t seem fair to pin a movie’s failure on one member of the cast when multiple factors will determine its success.
Many have called her brave for staying true to her beliefs and not backing down against the relentless backlash she has received. Lily Allen And Miquita Oliver who host the Miss Me? podcast have been the latest to come to her defence. Allen said: “In terms of Disney films, it’s always quite central to anyone’s character that they stand up for what they believe in. Isn’t it that the protagonist usually has some sort of struggle where they have to stand up in adversity?”
While it’s easy to point fingers at one individual, it’s clear that the film’s failure can’t be attributed solely to Rachel Zegler. Maybe we should stop blaming successful leading ladies for the shortcomings of multi-million pound projects at all. Its happened before and it will happen again.
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