The Snow White fallout continues and Disney is feeling the pain. As a result, their live-action remake of Tangled has been paused… indefinitely. This is according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey was signed up to work from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Thor: Love and Thunder – uh oh!).
Snow White has cratered. It topped the box office but in a weak window and with terrible returns. R-rated Jason Statham punch-’em-up A Working Man de-throned it in the second week and no amount of Disney spin can mask the scale of the failure any longer.
Even when it is dumped on streaming, sold off to third parties, and with home rentals, Snow White is still expected to wrack up a $115 million loss. This comes on top of a small loss for The Little Mermaid once tax jiggery-pokery was completed.
The result? Live-action remakes are in the reputational shitter at Disney. They still have Moana and Lilo & Stitch to come, but they are already done deals and can’t be stopped. How they fare will have a big impact on whether Tangled ever moves forward, or stays dead.
Key execs that were behind the Disney strategy to pursue all these live-action remakes have now all left the studio. The Little Mermaid and Mulan all lost money in their live-action form. The Lion King showed decent legs over a holiday period to do good bank for Disney. Snow White is an absolute financial disaster.