Almost from the beginning, the live action remake of Walt Disney Co. became a political lightning rod.
First, it was the racist reaction of the launch of actor Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian ancestry on her mother's side, as the titular character who canonically had “skin as white as snow.”
Then, staunch fans were put in arms on Zegler's comments that the story would be updated for modern times, putting less emphasis on Snow White's dreams of the blue prince. The real love interest “literally stalks” the princess in the original animated film of 1937, he said.
Along the way, the film has also fought against the questions about its representation of Little People and the main views of the actors in the Israel-Ahamas War. Zegler has been an open defender of the Palestinians, while Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen, has expressed his support for Israel, where she was born and served the two mandatory years in the Israeli army.
All these problems are colliding before the theatrical inauguration of the film next week, a high -risk debut for Disney, based in Burbank. The film, which, according to the reports, cost $ 250 million to make before marketing expenses, is the last in the company's mainly successful strategy to restart animated classics.
In Disney's vault, “Snow White and the seven dwarfs”, Walt Disney's first animated feature film, is considered among the fairest of all.
But now it becomes the last Disney reba to pass through the Buzzsaw of the War of Culture. Previously, the actor Halle Bailey, who is black and starred in the new 2023 version “Little Mermaid”, faced a racist reaction after being chosen as Ariel, which was white in the 1989 animated film.
The company has frequently been a case of Yesca: for various casting in its “Star Wars” franchise and for its opposition to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Florida, which led to a prolonged battle with Governor Ron Desantis. Disney has also received the end of intense conservative criticisms about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“Disney is now the most historical brand in the United States; If that is, it has an objective on its forehead, ”said Stephen Galloway, dean of the Faculty of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. “This is not the small animation team that Walt Disney created. When you are a mega corporation … Every problem you deal with is part of a globally interconnected and horribly complex map that you cannot avoid. “
Disney will present a Hollywood premiere this weekend for the movie in its El Capitan theater, although there will be no press line to interview actors along the red carpet. (However, journalists will attend the premiere).
Disney did not make executives available to comment.
The way in which this large number of problems will influence the performance of the “Snow White” box office is an open question, they said analysts and experts in the industry. If the film is good enough, it could cross cultural noise. Critics criticisms have not yet been published.
“Do they really have an excellent movie?” Galloway said. “If they do, it will erase all other concerns. If they don't, he will feed the narrative. “
The live action remakes of Disney animated films have become a cornerstone of the study's film strategy.
“Snow White” is currently tracking for an opening weekend of $ 50 million at the United States and Canada box office, according to people who have reviewed audience surveys prior to the launch.
That figure is below the average compared to the past Disney's past living action, according to analysts. But that may be due to the oldest nature of the intellectual property of the film, instead of the current controversies, said Shawn Robbins, director of analysis of the Fandango film entries and founder of the box office theory of the monitoring site.
Many previous live action remakes, such as “Lion King” of 2019 (which had a national opening of $ 191.8 million), “Beauty and the Beast” of 2017 ($ 174.8 million), “The Little Mermaid” of 2023 ($ 95.6 million) and “Aladdin” of 2019 ($ 91.5 million) were based on animated films launched for the end of the years of the 1980s already of the 90s, by the partners. “Renaissance period. These efforts appealed to the nostalgia of millennials and spectators of generation X, many of whom now have their own children, Robbins said.
Another success, “Alice in Wonderland” of 2010, which brought $ 116 million in its first weekend, had the benefit of being one of Disney's first live action remakes.
Despite the presence of Snow White in Disney's theme parks, the character and his story can be less recognizable for a younger audience, Robbins said.
“That will probably play in the generational appeal that is generally a factor for other remakes on the Disney side,” he said. However, “there is no doubt that some of the other stories that have developed around 'Snow White' during the last year are not helping.”
But even a poorest performance of “Snow White” will not stop Disney's live action plans. The company is preparing to launch a live action version of “Lilo and Stitch” in May, and has also announced a new version of the 2016 animated film “Moana”.
“Snow White” has little competition at this time in the family market: Warner Bros. Pictures will launch “Minecraft”, based on the games franchise, in April. Other options for children earlier this year included “Dog Man” by Universal Pictures and “Paddington in Peru” of Studiocanal, which was distributed by Sony.
“There is something to say that family films have been holding the box office recently in recent months,” Robbins said.
