Snow White: Blighted by controversy, but Disney live-action remake still tops box office
Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves has topped the North American box office chart, despite a controversy-packed run-up to the film’s release.
Based on the 1937 classic that established Disney’s name as an industry leader, Snow White took an estimated $43m (£33.1) domestically, and $87.3m (£67.3) worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.
Pic: Disney
For comparison, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, which came to cinemas in December, took $35m domestically (£27m). It’s now gone on to take over $700m (£540m) globally.
Meanwhile, Disney’s 2019 live-action Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, took $45m (£35m) domestically in its opening weekend. It has since taken over $350m (£270m) worldwide.
Snow White hasn’t performed well in China, only making it to seventh place in the Chinese box office charts and grossing less than $1m (£770,000) over its opening, according to EntGroup’s China Box Office website.
Reviews for the movie have been mixed, with The Guardian calling it an “exhaustingly awful reboot” and The Observer similarly judging it to be “toe-curlingly terrible”.
The Independent wasn’t a fan of the “uncanny CGI caricatures” which it said were reminiscent of 2004 movie The Polar Express, a sentiment echoed by Empire which called the reimagined dwarves an “unholy VFX disaster”.
The Daily Mail called it “painfully muddle-headed”, but gave Zegler the thumbs up, highlighting her “oodles of talent”, while The New York Post said it was “mediocre” and unmemorable.
Some US outlets have given a more favourable critique, with Variety calling it “one of the better live-action adaptations of a Disney animated feature,” and The Hollywood Reporter judging it “mostly captivating”.
Reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the movie a 44% critic score – which translates to “rotten” – however the audience score on the site’s “Popcornometer” is currently at 74%, rating it “fresh”.
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‘To use CGI like we’re mythical creatures disregards us’
Dubbed ‘woke’ and plagued with speculation
The movie had a muted marketing campaign, with no UK premiere and reduced US press opportunities.
Costing around $250m to make, the film had been flagged as a potential tent-pole movie (a film that is expected to be very successful and support a range of merchandise or spin-off opportunities) for Disney early on.
But aspirations faded as it approached release as it was hit by controversy after controversy.
Early on, Snow White was labelled “woke” due to its casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian-Polish descent, in the lead role.
Zegler also faced a backlash after suggesting the early version of the film had content that was unsuitable for the 21st century – namely the fact the prince “literally stalks” Snow White.
There was then speculation as to whether Zegler got on with Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen, as they have previously expressed very different views over the Israel-Hamas war.
The use of CGI to create the seven dwarf characters, thus replacing the potential for little people to take up the roles, has left disability activists to accuse the movie of “erasing” them from the narrative.
Ahead of the film’s release, comedian, model and content creator Fats Timbo told Sky News she believed Disney missed a golden opportunity to educate children during what was likely to be their first encounter with someone with dwarfism.
Snow White is in cinemas now.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 7 – As it happened
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
‘Diddy wanted our bodies to shine’
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
The trial is set to last for around two months.
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