Let’s not mince words: Disney’s recent live-action remake of Snow White was a bit of a disaster. The reviews weren’t great, and the box office performance was worse — grossing $205 million against a budget that hovered between $240 and $270 million. The film performed so badly that Disney reportedly halted production on any more live-action remakes at the time.
The reason for why the film didn’t do well really depends on who you ask. It is worth noting that there was rumors of “tension” between Snow White stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot during the film’s press run, and that Rachel had received backlash for her support of the Palestinian people.
One notable comment: Despite the previous reports of tension, Gal said that she had a good time filming with Rachel. “We laughed, talked, and had fun,” she said of her working relationship with her costar.
Gal went on to claim that despite her belief that Snow White “would be a huge success…what’s happening in all kinds of industries and also in Hollywood, is that there’s a lot of pressure on celebrities to bring up things against Israel,” seemingly suggesting that pressure to speak against Israel contributed to Snow White‘s box office performance.
“You can always explain and try to give people in the world a context about what’s happening [in Israel] and what the reality is here, but in the end people decide for themselves,” she added. “I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn’t do well at the box office.”