Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) animated films have been among the company’s best revenue producers. Last year, Disney’s “Inside Out 2” was the domestic box office leader with ticket sales of $652 million in the US, and “Moana 2” was in third place with $460 million.
The controversial film “Snow White” only brought in $45 million for its first weekend. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” released in 1937, was among the greatest animated films ever. Based on inflation-adjusted ticket sales, the 1937 movie ranks 10th of all time. The Wall Street Journal points out, “In the 15 years that Disney has been producing live-action remakes of its animated classics, none of the big-budget entries have arrived in theaters to less than $58 million, after adjusting for inflation.”
One of the controversies around the film was Snow White’s skin color. Another was the depiction of dwarfs, which was challenged by the dwarfism community. Yet another was the actress Gal Gadot, who has made pro-Israel comments. The Guardian ran a headline: “How did Snow White become the year’s most cursed movie?”
Disney has another problem. The movie cost $240 million to make.
The contribution of Disney’s studio operation is essential. One of the specific comments CEO Bob Iger made when Disney announced its last quarterly results was, “In fiscal Q1 we saw outstanding box office performance from our studios, which had the top three movies of 2024.”
In the most recently reported quarter, Disney’s revenue rose only 5% to $24.7 billion. Operating income was up 31% to $5.1 billion. Much of the operating income came from Disney’s entertainment division, which had revenue of $10.9 billion, up 9%, and operating income of $1.7 billion, up 95%.
It was hard to guess whether the “Snow White” controversy would help ticket sales. The answer appears to be “no.”
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