Disney’s release of Mufasa: The Lion King this weekend is shaping up to be a massive flop of epic proportions. It could also foreshadow the potential failure of Disney’s upcoming Snow White movie, starring Rachel Zegler.
Both are beloved Disney franchises; both have huge backlash
The two films have a lot in common, as both are part of beloved franchises. They are remakes of originals that fans grew up with and cherish. Both come from Disney. However, they also share significant backlash. Fan reactions to their trailers have been overwhelmingly negative.
The reaction to the Mufasa: The Lion King trailer was so poor that Disney disabled comments and the backlash so large it forced the director to respond. Similarly, the Snow White trailer has amassed millions of dislikes on Disney’s YouTube channel. Disney has even delayed Snow White by a year, reportedly in an attempt to fix the movie by undertaking extensive reshoots.
Mufasa: The Lion King massively underperforming at box office
So with all the backlash surrounding Mufasa: The Lion King, it’s looking like another massive flop for Disney. The film reportedly cost over $200 million to produce. Early estimates suggested the movie could open as high as $66 million or more, with the lower end at $45 million.
However, Deadline now reports that Mufasa is expected to open at just $35 million—even while playing in over 4,000 theaters. They add that the film’s success hinges on the international audience showing up. However, the foreign audience also isn’t showing up. After three days, Mufasa has brought in $33M in foreign grosses. The opening worldwide box office is looking like $125M, a far cry from the estimates of $180M.
Snow White backlash is worse
Disney’s Snow White is set to release on March 21, 2025. The film also reportedly has a budget exceeding $200 million.
Rachel Zegler’s most recent movie, released just a few weeks ago, was a massive flop, earning only $4 million. Additionally, Zegler’s Hunger Games installment is the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise by a significant margin. Fan reaction to Snow White has been even worse than the backlash faced by Mufasa: The Lion King.
Will the female audience show up?
Disney’s only hope for Snow White is that the female audience turns out, as they did in large numbers for Barbie and, to a lesser extent, for Wicked. While the trailer for Wicked has received a significant number of dislikes on YouTube, the likes outnumber the dislikes by more than double.
In contrast, the most recent Snow White trailer has dislikes outpacing likes by nearly 30 to 1. Barbie trailers, on the other hand, garnered plenty of likes and hardly any dislikes. Rachel Zegler seems to be on the same level as Brie Larson (The Marvels lost Diney $200M) when it comes to its target audience, meaning they don’t like her and don’t show up.
Disney YouTube screenshot
Sonic is king of Christmas
So who’s claiming the Christmas crown? Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , which brings in fan-favorite character Shadow paired with fan-favorite actor Keanu Reeves, is killing it this weekend. Sonic 3 is on track for $70.5 million this weekend and just might top Sonic 2’s $72M from two years ago. Update: Things slowed and Sonic only brought in $62M. Regardless, Paramount isn’t complaining.
