New ‘Snow White’ tops North American box office despite grumpy reviews
[LOS ANGELES] Disney’s remake of Snow White topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated take of US$43 million, but faces stiff winds – and some horrendous reviews – to make up its huge production costs.
The new live-action version starring Rachel Zegler, which comes 90 years after the original blockbuster, has faced a series of woes – from the Covid-19 pandemic to criticism of its use of CGI, not real actors, to portray the seven dwarves.
The film’s budget topped out at an estimated US$250 million and it has become “one of the most troubled projects in Disney’s 102-year history”, according to The New York Times.
Some of the reviews have been scathing. The Guardian called it “toe-curlingly terrible” while others were a bit kinder, with The Washington Post calling it “surprisingly entertaining” and audiences giving generally positive feedback.
“While it’s a disappointing opening weekend, we can’t write off the film’s performance until we see how it holds up in the coming weeks,” said Daniel Loria, senior vice-president at the Boxoffice Company.
Focus Features’ spy thriller Black Bag starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett ticked up a notch from the previous weekend to second place, earning US$4.4 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday (Mar 23).
In third place, also up one spot from the previous weekend, was Marvel and Disney’s Captain America: Brave New World, at US$4.1 million. Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford star in the latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Black comedy Mickey 17 from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho slipped to fourth place, at US$3.9 million.
Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo star in the Warner Bros sci-fi tale about the many lives – and deaths – of a man who volunteers for hazardous space missions.
The previous weekend’s leader, Paramount’s action-comedy Novocaine, suffered a painful drop in ticket sales, taking in just US$3.8 million. Jack Quaid plays a banker who, unlike Hollywood studios, cannot feel pain.
Rounding out the top 10 were The Alto Knights (US$3.2 million); The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (US$1.8 million); The Monkey (US$1.55 million); Dog Man (US$1.5 million); and The Last Supper (US$1.3 million). AFP
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