Disney‘s “Snow White” is fairest of them all on box office charts. The musical earned $16 million across Friday and preview screenings from 4,200 venues. It’s a strong enough start to put “Snow White,” which stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, on track to land within projections for an opening weekend north of $45 million.
That would mark the second-biggest debut of the year behind fellow Disney release “Captain America: Brave New World.” But like that Marvel Cinematic Universe entry, “Snow White” is budgeted like a four-quadrant tentpole and needs to play like one. The Marc Webb-directed fairy tale carries a massive production cost north of $250 million, meaning it faces a steep climb to profitability.
Plenty of Disney’s other family-friendly films have legged out successful theatrical runs, as the digitally-rendered “Mufasa: The Lion King” did just a few months ago. That film launched in December with unfavorable reviews and a lukewarm $35 million opening, but it held strong and proved a global draw, ending up with more than $250 million in North America and over $700 million worldwide. But then there’s also the 2019 remake “Dumbo,” which took flight with $45 million and ended up at $114 million domestic and $353 million worldwide. That was a disappointing tally, for a film that cost much less than “Snow White” too, at a $170 million production budget.
“Snow White” would need to accomplish a similar feat to “Mufasa” to be considered a theatrical success, and it doesn’t have the moviegoing free-for-all of the Christmas corridor that the “Lion King” prequel benefited from. It seems to have drawn positive notices among audiences at least. While “Snow White” has become an internet culture war fixation (to the point that Disney scaled back press access at the premiere), those who actually bought tickets are leaning positive, with pollster Cinema Score turning in a “B+” grade.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. will hope to forget about it after opening the mafia drama “The Alto Knights,” a crime period piece that sees Robert De Niro playing two identical (yet biologically unrelated) gang leaders in New York. The film got whacked with about $1.1 million across Friday and previews, playing in 2,651 theaters.
Like fellow Warner release “Mickey 17,” which misfired in its opening just two weeks ago, “The Alto Knights” is a star-driven, original R-rated drama from a filmmaker with awards history (here, in director Barry Levinson). Unlike “Mickey 17,” which can’t draw a big enough audience to justify its nine-digit budget, “Alto Knights” is a more measured affair, with a $45 million production cost. But also unlike “Mickey 17,” “Alto Knights” simply isn’t drawing much of anyone at all.
Cinema Score turned in a measured “B” grade. And “Alto Knights” was met with a shrug by critics. The crime film will be lucky to even crack the top five in its debut. It’s been a tough March for Warner Bros.; the studio is looking to bounce back with the video game adaptation “A Minecraft Movie” in two weeks.
The rest of the top five is a mush of holdovers. Focus Features’ spy thriller “Black Bag” is rising to second, though projecting a 43% drop for its second weekend. It’s not the impressive word-of-mouth hold that Universal’s specialty label was hoping for the starry $50 million drama, which will now look to cross $14.8 million through its first 10 days.
Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” is also climbing back up, landing in third. The Marvel entry earned $1.1 million on Friday and will cross a $190 million domestic total on Saturday.
Then there’s Paramount’s slapstick actioner “Novocaine,” falling a substantial 57% in its second outing, projecting a $3.8 million weekend to hit a $15.8 million domestic total. And Warner’s “Mickey 17” is just below, earning another $1 million Friday and hoping to scrape past a $40 million domestic total this weekend
Also opening this weekend, RLJE and Shudder are putting the alien-planet horror feature “Ash” in 1,163 theaters just over a week after a premiere at SXSW. Directed by Flying Lotus and starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul, the thriller earned about $333,000 on its opening day. Meanwhile, Briarcliff Entertainment has the long-shelfed Jonathan Majors bodybuilding drama “Magazine Dreams,” which the indie label acquired after Searchlight Pictures dropped the film following the actor’s 2023 assault conviction. It also earned about $330,000 on its opening day, playing in 815 venues.
