Rachel Zegler Reacts as Snow White Tanks and Theaters Empty Nationwide

Snow White Flops Hard: Zegler's Comments, Backlash, and Box Office Woes

You know that secondhand embarrassment you get from watching a truly cringey moment? Multiply that by a hundred, add a $270 million budget, sprinkle in a popcorn bucket nobody wanted—and you’ve got the Snow White remake disaster of 2025.

Let’s set the scene: March 25th. Discount Tuesday. Rachel Zegler, Disney’s freshly crowned Snow White, strolls into a near-empty theater with a handful of loyal ride-or-die friends. Her name flashes on the screen. Her friend screams. Rachel awkwardly laughs. And it’s not the charming kind of awkward—it’s the “we spent a quarter billion on this and nobody came” awkward.

Thanks to Instagram stories from Ilda Mason (one of the brave few accompanying Rachel), the internet got front-row seats to the wreckage. The group tried to make the best of it, even hopping on a viral “Two tickets please” meme with a confused Regal employee. But when they showed off their Snow White souvenir cups… the silence hit different.

And no, they didn’t rent the theater out. It just came that way—free with the flop.

Box Office Bombshell

Let’s not sugarcoat this: Snow White didn’t just underperform—it faceplanted off the metaphorical box office cliff. Thursday night previews barely scratched the surface with a dismal $3.5 million. And the full opening weekend? An even sadder $43 million. For a film that cost over $250 million to make—before Disney even dropped a dime on marketing—that's not just a loss. That's a catastrophic misfire.

To put that in perspective, The Little Mermaid swam its way to $95 million on its debut weekend, and even Dumbo—the film people constantly clown on—managed to float at $45 million, and it was made for significantly less money. In short, Snow White wasn’t just a misstep—it was a billion-dollar brand's bellyflop heard around the world.

The numbers say it all. Theaters across the country reported next-level empty screenings—like, “bring a blanket and pretend it's your living room” empty. Social media quickly flooded with photos of deserted seats, eerie silence, and the occasional sad popcorn bucket. Some fans even joked that Snow White was a better horror movie than anything Blumhouse dropped this year—because watching that audience turnout? Truly terrifying.

Disney clearly saw the writing on the wall. Instead of a glitzy red-carpet rollout, they opted for a low-key midday premiere with minimal press. Even the European premiere got shipped off to some remote castle in Spain like it was in PR witness protection. When you hide your own $270M baby like that, you already know the damage is done.

PR Nightmares & Political Backfires

Before a single ticket was sold, the Snow White PR train had already gone off the rails—and honestly, it never really got back on track. Rachel Zegler became a lightning rod for controversy, starting with that now-viral video where she passionately claimed that, despite her flaws and “cracks,” people would still line up to see her films. Flash-forward to release week, and the only thing people were lining up for was a front-row seat to the online roast session.

Twitter (or X, if we’re being technically cursed) had a field day. Meme accounts, movie critics, and casual fans alike zeroed in on everything: awkward interviews, low energy press junkets, and her less-than-glowing takes on the original Snow White. Audiences accused her of “biting the hand that feeds,” especially after she called the 1937 version “weird” and criticized the love story. Not the smartest PR move when you’re leading a remake of that exact classic.

And then there’s the Gal Gadot tension—whew. While on-screen they played the fairest of foes, behind the scenes, things got frosty. At the Oscars, their co-presenting was painfully stiff, and fans noticed Zegler didn’t mention Gadot once in her Instagram “thank you” post just before the film dropped. Coincidence? Not likely.

Things escalated thanks to Zegler’s public support for Palestine, which clashed hard with Gadot’s background as an Israeli army vet. The political split wasn’t just personal—it was explosive. So explosive, in fact, that Disney had to beef up security for Gadot, who started receiving threats. Yep. A fairy tale gone full nightmare.

Disney Execs in Damage Control Mode

Behind the scenes, Disney was not having a magical day. Variety spilled that execs were already nervous about Zegler’s fiery public comments—including that infamous D23 appearance where she dropped an unexpected political bomb right in the middle of her thank-you speech. That sent Disney into full-blown panic mode.

Producer Mark Platt (yes, his son Jonah went rogue on Instagram blasting Zegler) even flew out twice to personally ask her to tone things down. Eventually, Disney assigned her a social media expert to vet all her posts. A whole social media babysitter. Oof.

The Seven Dwarfs (Or Not)

Let’s not forget the dwarf-shaped elephant in the room. First, Peter Dinklage blasted the project for being “backward” in its depiction of dwarfs. Then Disney scrapped the classic characters altogether… and replaced them with weird-looking CGI “magical creatures.” Fans hated it. Hard.

Even Weman (yep, the pro wrestler) chimed in, slamming Disney for taking away roles from actors with dwarfism. Everyone had an opinion, and none of it was good.

"Weird" Love Story, Weird Choices

And then there was Zegler calling the original 1937 Snow White “weird” in an interview. She said the love story felt creepy. While Disney was always planning a modern spin, her comments came across less like “updated princess empowerment” and more like “I kinda hate this story I’m starring in.”

Yeah... not a great look when your paycheck depends on fans loving the original.

Banned From Theaters?

The biggest twist in this tragic tale? Rumors are swirling that Snow White has been quietly pulled from several theaters across the U.S. after its opening weekend crash. Whether it's a response to low ticket sales or a strategic retreat by Disney remains unclear, but several fan reports claim listings for Snow White vanished within days of debut. That's not just bad—that’s historic-level bad.

Even Disney seemed to know this was coming. The world premiere was a quiet midday event in Hollywood. The European premiere? Tucked away in a remote Spanish castle. No red carpet, no major press blitz. Almost like they didn’t want anyone to see it.

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So, here we are. A $270 million dollar lesson in PR disasters, audience disconnect, and what happens when you bet it all on a "modernized" fairy tale without reading the room.

Will Rachel Zegler recover? Probably. She’s young, talented, and has a solid fanbase. But for now, Snow White isn’t the crowning achievement she hoped for—it’s the poisoned apple Disney definitely wishes it hadn’t bitten into.

Stay enchanted or enraged—either way, we’ve got more Hollywood hot takes at Land of Geek Magazine!

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