New Snow White reboot to hit theaters with abysmal Rotten Tomatoes ratings

Disney’s live-action Snow White film, starring Rachel Zegler as the film's namesake, will be opening in theaters on Friday with one of the worst ratings for a live-action film from the company ever. 

As of Thursday afternoon, the film had a "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 47 percent among 106 reviewers. According to Screen Rant, the only films to have scored lower, not counting sequel films, were 1996’s 101 Dalmatians, with a score of 39 percent, and 2022’s Pinocchio, which received a score of 27 percent. 

Top critics said the film contained "distracting flaws," was a "pointless and awkward live-action automaton," and will "put you to sleep."

Moira MacDonald for the Seattle Times wrote, "the end result is neither good enough to be a classic or bad enough to be a guilty pleasure; it’s just … there," giving it a score of 2.5 out of four. 

In giving it a three out of five score, Tara Brady wrote for the Irish Times, "The most distracting flaws are rooted in the problematic re-creation of animated material ... The permanent magic-hour lighting is hard to look at. Worst of all, the decision to 'cartoonise' the dwarves alongside human actors is hugely problematic."

Adam Nayman wrote for the Toronto Star, "There’s nothing magical in Marc Webb’s movie, but it nevertheless feels uncanny; spending $250 million to make a film in which absolutely nothing works is a kind of dark art in and of itself," giving it a one out of four score.

"The timeless classic, a groundbreaking achievement for animation, has been turned into another pointless and awkward live-action automaton that vanishes from your mind the second it’s over," Johnny Oleksinski wrote for the New York Post, giving it a two out of four score.

The dismal reviews could mean lesser returns at the box office during opening weekend for the $250 million movie. Screen Rant reported that the movie’s 3-day opening weekend is projected to bring in just $37.5 to $53 million at the domestic box office. 

"Unless international markets provide the movie with a huge boost, which doesn't seem necessarily likely given the fact that movies harnessing nostalgia for pre-1980s properties don't always have strong global recognition, it could very well fail to hit its break-even point, which is likely $625 million or more, given its budget level," the outlet reported.

This comes as Disney has scaled back the film’s premiere. In scaling back, the company will not include a red-carpet event, but will host a pre-party and screening. Media access will be restricted to photographers and an in-house crew. The film's release had been pushed back one year after the actors' strike in Hollywood.

The film has been the target of criticisms over comments made by Zegler, including when she called the original 1937 film “dated” and claiming the prince in the story “literally stalks Snow White.” She also said, regarding the main character, "She’s not going to be saved by the prince. She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be."