'Snow White' Dwarfs Competition, but Adequate Isn't Good Enough
"Secret Mall Apartment" grosses $40,000 at the shopping center where it is set.
When “The Little Mermaid” opened to $95 million in late May 2023, it was regarded as a disappointment. With a $240 million budget before marketing and as part of Disney’s classic animation film live remake series, some suspected it had succumbed to some backlash over casting and other issues.
The lackluster opening contributed to a total box office of around $77 million. That’s an improvement over the previousthree that reached at best $56 million. But here’s a frightening comparison - between 2010-2019 (pre-COVID), with lower ticket prices, only one March weekend ever totaled less than $100 million. This is horrific. (Year to date is now off 7%).
“Mermaid” survived with a decent three times domestic multiple and $570 million worldwide. But that’s the context for analyzing the $43 million U.S./Canada opening for “Snow White,” which had an even bigger ($270 million) budget. (International added only another $44 million, opening nearly everywhere).
$43 million comes in beneath the low-end range of weekend projections ($45-55 million), and also below expectations after its preview + Friday gross ($45-48 million). So as weak as the estimate is, it’s worse because it appears its weak B+ Cinemascore is translating into tepid word of mouth. And any chance for this to gain traction would have to include hopes that it would sustain subsequent weekends, bolstered by staggered spring vavation, to push this into better results.
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the first Disney animated film, and adjusted for inflation, biggest grossing (it ranks a the #10 largest domestic gross at over $1 billion - that’s ahead of “Avatar”), might seem a logical guess for success. But it is also the oldest (nearly 90 years ago initially) and for all its success, artistic importance, and iconic status, it comes late in the live action remake franchise.
Unlike many of the previous successes, the original predates even the grandparents of children today. As Disney developed its cartoon classics, they became edgier, with more memorable villains and feistier heroes and heroines.
The 72% female audience suggests as huge as the original “Snow White” was, it has less universal appeal than other remakes. Couple that with less than stellar external publicity that dogged the film made and lackluster reviews, and the result is a mediocre gross.
That’s still the second best opening of the year (after Disney’s own “Captain America: Brave New World”). But as weak as $43 million is, it still accounted for just over half of the weekend gross. In fact, nothing else grossed even $5 million, including a new wide release from an Oscar-winning director with a two-time Oscar acting winner.
“The Alto Knights” (Warner Bros. Division) from Barry Levinson (“Rainman”) with Robert DeNiro playing two legendary mobsters, a $45 million production, managed only $3.1 million (in 2,661 theaters), opening at #6. That comes after WB’s major flop “Mickey 17,” fourth this weekend if their $3.9 million estimate holds up, only at $40 million after weekend three. Fortunately for the studio, they have what appear to be the two top April films (“The Minecraft Movie” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners”) ahead.
Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” (Focus) repeated at #2 with $4.4 million, down 42%, $14.9 million total. Boosted by duplicated drive in second feature grosses all reported by “Snow White,” “Brave New World” is listed as #3 with $4.1 million. “Novocaine” (Paramount) dropped 57% from #1 its opening week to #5 with a little under $3.8 million (though it could still edge out “Mickey 17” for #4, a dubious achievement at best.)
“The Monkey” (Neon) at #8 has hit $40 million, a decent achievement and more so as a horror film. It will end up more than three times its opening, very rare for a horror film.
SPECIALIZED HIGHLIGHTS
“Secret Mall Apartment” (self-distributed), from South by Southwest last year, opened in Providence, Rhode Island to over $40,000 in a single theater. That theater is in the mall where the documentary (about several friends surreptiously maintaining a residence secreted with a new complex) is set, so is about as home town-aided as a film can be. Still, after a year of strong festival appearances, this astounding gross in a small market (the city only has 190,000 people) is standout. It opens Friday at the IFC Center in New York and Alamo Downtown in Los Angeles. Michael Tuckman, who also is booking “No Other Land,” is assisting in the release. (A second Rhode Island theater played this per the film’s website, but grosses weren’t included).
Three noteable titles, led by the ill-fated “Magazine Dreams” (Briarcliff), opened in modestly wide release, but none with per theater averages over $1,000. “Locked” (Avenue) grossed best with $964,000, “Ash” (IFC) did $717,000, with “Magazine” at $700,000, though it did have the highest PTA.
Among platform releases, “Bob Trevino Likes It” (Roadside Attractions), also a 2024 SxSW premiere, did best with $58,000 in 5 New York/Los Angeles/Toronto locations. Alain Guiraudie’s acclaimed “Misericordia” (Janus/Sideshow) managed $25,000 in three NY/LA spots. “Being Maria” (Kino Lorber) did $6,270 at one NY location.
The second weekend of the anti-semitism focused documentary “October 8” (Briarcliff) did a strong $250,000 in 113 theaters. “No Other Land” (self-distributed) keeps doing great, adding $181,000, now just under $1,750,000 total.
Speaking of docs, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” (Sony Pictures Classic) has now passed $10 million.
Top 10
1. Snow White (Disney) Week 1; Cinemascore: B+; Metacritic: 50; Est. budget: $270 million
$43,000,000 in 4,200 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $10,238; Cumulative: $43,000,000
2. Black Bag (Focus) Week 2; Last weekend #2
$4,400,000 (-42%) in 2,713 (+8) theaters; PTA: $1,622; Cumulative: $14,880,000
3. Captain America: Brave New World (Disney) Week 6; Last weekend #4
$4,100,000 (-28%) in 2,900 (-350) theaters; PTA: $1,414; Cumulative: $192,117,000
4. Mickey 17 (WBD) Week 3; Last weekend #3
$3,900,000 (-48%) in 2,584 (-1,223) theaters; PTA: $1,509; Cumulative: $40,222,000
5. Novocaine (Paramount) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$3,760,000 (-57%) in 3,369 (+4) theaters; PTA: $1,116; Cumulative: $15,769,000
6. The Alto Knights (WBD) NEW - Cinemascore: B; Metacritic: 46; Est. budget: $45 million
$3,165,000 in 2,661 theaters; PTA: $1,194; Cumulative: $3,165,000
7. The Day the Earth Blew Up (Ketchup) Week 2; Last weekend #5
$1,834,000 (-42%) in 2,703 (-124) theaters; PTA: $679; Cumulative: $6,456,000
8. The Monkey (Neon) Week 5; Last weekend #9
$1,549,000 (-38%) in 1,452 (-842) theaters; PTA: $1,067; Cumulative: $37,862,000
9. Dog Man (Universal) Week 8; Last weekend #8; also on PVOD
$1,500,000 (-41%) in 1,761 (-641) theaters; PTA: $849; Cumulative: $ 95,631,000
10. The Last Supper (Pinnacle Peak) Week 2
$ 1,335,000 (-67%) in 1,500 (-75) theaters; PTA: $848; Cumulative: $5,325,000
Other specialized/independent titles
Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available. After week two, per theater averages only listed for expanding films with under 100 theaters.
OPENING (platform/limited)
Secret Mall Apartment (Wheelhouse Creative/mTuckman) NEW - Festivals include: South by Southwest, Hot Docs 2024
$40,500 in 1 theater; PTA: $40,500
Bob Trevino Likes It (Roadside Attractions) NEW - Metacritic: 76; Festivals include: South by Southwest, Seattle 2024
$58,138 in 5 theaters; PTA: $11,627
Misericordia (Sideshow/Janus) NEW - Metacritic: 80; Festivals include: Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, New York 2025
$25,200 in 3 theaters; PTA: $8,400
Being Maria (Kino Lorber) NEW - Metacritic: 60; Festivals include: Cannes 2024
$6,270 in 1 theater; PTA: $6,270
OPENING (wide)
Locked (Variance) NEW - Metacritic: 45
$964,000 in 971 theaters; PTA: $993
Ash (IFC) NEW - Metacritic: 61; Festivals include: South by Southwest 2025
$716,777 in 1,136 theaters; PTA: $631
Magazine Dreams (Briarcliff) NEW - Metacritic: 69; Festivals include: Sundance 2023
$700,000 in 815 theaters; PTA: $859
HOLDOVERS
October 8 (Briarcliff) Week 2
$250,000 in 113 (-14) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $851,000
Opus (A24) - Week 2
$282,521 in 1,261 (-503) theaters; PTA: $224; Cumulative: $1,804,000
Eephus (Music Box) Week 3
$108,273 in 80 (+50) theaters; Cumulative: $262,500
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (A24) Week 3
$59,527 in 112 (+95) theaters; Cumulative: $118,179
Ne Zha 2 (CMC) Week 6
$(est.) 210,000 in 110 (-90) theaters; Cumulative: $(est.) 20,565,000
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7
$84,517 in 147 (-107) theaters; Cumulative: $10,009,000
No Other Land (no distributor) Week 8
$181,579 in 130 (-8) theaters; Cumulative: $1,748,000
I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 10; also on PVOD
$42,433 at 53 (-110) theaters; Cumulative: $6,148,000
A Complete Unknown (Searchlight) Week 13; also on PVOD
$64,000 in 110 (-110) theaters; Cumulative: $74,903,000
Anora (Neon) Week 24; also on VOD
$155,925 in 253 (-809) theaters; Cumulative: $20,378,000
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