The failure of Snow White shook the Disney Empire so much that the studios decided not to develop the live-action version of Tangled, even though it had been approved for several months. After this flop, it seems that the company has already taken a radical new turn regarding these future live-action remakes. A necessary decision to avoid sinking the ship...
Snow White, a live-action too expensive
Disney has never looked at the expense when it comes to its films. When it's a success, it's a money-making venture, but when viewers turn a blind eye, it's a financial disaster. This is exactly what just happened with the lunar failure of Snow White, which is not unlike that of John Carter in 2012. The big-eared studios revealed that this live-action film cost around $270 million to produce, but our colleagues at the NYT estimate that between marketing and reshoots, it probably has a final budget of $350 million. A crazy amount of money, hard to justify given the mediocre results in terms of plot, acting, and special effects.
Disney is making a shift toward less expensive films
And it was about time! Several very different films released in recent years have proven that it is possible to achieve convincing special effects and impressive box office results with condensed budgets. One example is Godzilla Minus One and its $15 million production cost, which shone at the 2024 Oscars. Disney seems to have finally understood that its live-action remakes don't have to be worth more than $200 million each, as proven by the consecutive $150 million budgets for Lilo & Stitch and Moana. The popularity and "low" production costs (everything is relative) of these two films should allow them to replenish their coffers, and respond to a much more reliable economic model. The lower the cost price of their live-action films, the less Disney will suffer from possible box-office failures. It remains to be seen whether this radical decision by the studios regarding their spending is confirmed with future remakes.
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