By Dr. Alex McFarland for BELIEFNET
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, what’s the most expensive Disney flop of all?”
By now, it is well known that Disney’s recent “Snow White” reboot will go down as one of Hollywood’s biggest money losers ever. With a budget rumored to be about $350-400 million, and with the most optimistic revenue projections expected to clock in at no more than $295 million, Disney’s financial loss will be huge. Forget rewriting classic fairy tales — what most needs a revamp is the philosophy driving such projects.
If (like myself) you’re old enough to remember the launch of video discs, Beta tapes, and then VCRs, you may also remember that these were accompanied by predictions of the film industry’s demise. It is true that movie theater attendance has been gradually tapering off since the birth of video rental stores more than four decades ago. Already tepid theater attendance never fully rebounded since COVID quarantines darkened screens throughout 2020 and into 2021. The proliferation of streaming services that bring the public unlimited viewing choices is a big part of why the marketing budget for films often equals or surpasses the production costs.
In the months, then weeks, leading up to “Snow White’s” release, coverage regarding the film was dominated by news of so much negative “buzz.” Way back in June 2021, there was something of a cultural “groan” when it was announced that “Snow White” (“the fairest of them all”) would be played by feisty Latina actress, Rachel Zegler. Public sentiment was that her casting in this live-action remake of a Disney classic was just one more example of woke/DEI punch lists driving production plans.
Zegler, in the lead role, is certainly not the only reason this film is a box office bomb. But her public “brand image” has in no way helped the film succeed. Zegler self-describes as a “narcissist,” and is on record coolly saying that if people don’t like her, then they shouldn’t watch her films, because “she doesn’t need them (the public) anyway.” Well . . . alrighty, then.
