Disney’s 2025 live-action Snow White didn’t just underperform.
It flat-out belly-flopped. Hard.
After losing hundreds of millions of dollars on the Woke Snow White movie — potentially more than any movie has ever lost in history — Disney laid off hundreds of employees today, primarily from the movie studio.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 2, 2025
With a bloated production and marketing budget that topped out around $350 million, the film only managed to scrape together $205.5 million at the global box office.
Once you factor in the theater’s cut — usually about half — Disney’s looking at losses north of $240 million.
That puts Snow White in the running for one of the biggest money-losers in Hollywood history.
Now, some folks will want to chalk this up to “anti-woke backlash,” and yeah, that played a role. But it was also about people simply not connecting with the movie — and Disney not reading the room.
A Fairy Tale Nobody Asked For
This wasn’t just a remake — it was a reimagining.
The original Snow White was Disney’s first full-length animated movie, released back in 1937.
It’s practically sacred ground.
But instead of sticking to the charm and simplicity that made it a classic, the new version tried to modernize every last inch of it.
A totally rewritten story. The famous seven dwarfs? Replaced with a random mix of forest-dwellers.
The lead actress, Rachel Zegler, went on record bashing the original prince as a stalker and saying she wouldn’t let her character be “saved by a man.”
That didn’t exactly sit well with longtime fans.
To be fair, Zegler’s acting got some praise — even critics who didn’t like the movie said she gave it her all.
But for a lot of people, it just wasn’t Snow White anymore. And that’s the problem.
Audience to Disney: “No Thanks.”
The movie ended up with a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes — not awful, but far from great.
Audience scores weren’t much better. CinemaScore gave it a B+, which basically means, “meh.”
Bottom line? People didn’t love it.
Meanwhile, other family-friendly movies have been crushing it.
The new Lilo & Stitch remake pulled in over $340 million — without the drama. A Minecraft Movie is closing in on a billion.
People still want to go to the movies. They just want something they can enjoy with their kids without a lecture.
The Layoffs Hit
The fallout didn’t stop at the box office.
After the financial faceplant, Disney laid off hundreds of employees — mostly from its movie studio.
Disney lays off “several hundred” more employees to cut costshttps://t.co/GWDpCxTtwA
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) June 3, 2025
Marketing, casting, development — a whole swath of teams were affected.
This comes on top of the 7,000 jobs the company already cut back in 2023 to save money.
Company execs blamed “industry challenges.”
Translation: we spent too much, bet on the wrong projects, and now the little guys are paying for it.
Is the “Go Woke, Go Broke” Thing Real?
Depends who you ask.
There’s no shortage of folks online saying Snow White flopped because it was “too woke.” There’s something to the idea that constant reboots, rewritten classics, and in-your-face messaging are turning people off.
But even some industry experts admit this wasn’t just about politics — it was about storytelling.
The new Snow White just didn’t connect. It felt overthought, overproduced, and underwhelming.
Compare that to what’s working: simple, sincere stories that don’t try to rewrite the rulebook.
Nostalgic? Yes. But not cynical. And definitely not trying to make a statement every five minutes.
So What Now?
Disney’s not going anywhere — but it’s got some soul-searching to do.
The good news is, there’s still an audience for quality content. PG-rated movies are doing well.
People still have some faith in Disney to deliver magic — but not when it looks like a corporate experiment in virtue signaling.
If the company wants to get back on track, it might be time to ditch the reboots and find some fresh stories. At the very least, treat the classics with a little more respect.
If the message from audiences wasn’t clear before, it should be now: just because you can remake something, doesn’t mean you should.
And if you’re going to spend $350 million doing it? Maybe make a movie people actually want to see.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
