How ‘Tangled’ became a casualty of the ‘Snow White’ catastrophe: A brief explainer
Rapunzel can no longer blame her wicked mother for keeping her in the dark — this time, it might be Snow White's fault. This week news broke that Disney's plans for a live-action remake of Tangled were put on hold following the dismal box-office numbers for Snow White. We break down what happened and why.
The Rapunzel excitement
In December, Disney revealed plans to adapt its 2010 animated film Tangled into a live-action movie. Michael Gracey, best known for directing The Greatest Showman, was in talks to helm the project, with a script written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Thor: Love and Thunder and the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot). Although no casting details were announced, fans eagerly took to the internet to speculate on who should portray the iconic princess with the long, magical hair. Names like Sabrina Carpenter, Sydney Sweeney, Dove Cameron and Florence Pugh quickly emerged as popular fan choices for the role.
HIRE SABRINA CARPENTER AS RAPUNZEL pic.twitter.com/sIQ9WSfSfR
— neo (@neolithicobject) April 3, 2025
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Dove Cameron. pic.twitter.com/pQ9tfOTOSz
— Woll Street (@paulwoll) December 15, 2024
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Snow White bombs at the box office
When Snow White was released on March 21, it struggled to connect with audiences and received disappointing box-office numbers. The film, directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, opened to a modest $43 million domestically. Despite a global total of $145 million, the film failed to recoup its hefty $270 million production budget. The film faced a rocky road even before its release, plagued by mixed reviews and a wave of controversy. This opening was a far cry from the success of other live-action Disney remakes, such as Beauty and the Beast, which earned $174.7 million, or The Jungle Book, which brought in $103.2 million.
The fallout
Following an underwhelming second weekend, where Snow White unexpectedly finished second to the Jason Statham thriller A Working Man and was on track to lose more than $100 million, the Hollywood trades reported that Disney had decided to put the live-action Tangled on hold. Headlines such as "Snow White bombed so badly at the box office that Disney put another live-action princess remake on ice: reports" began flooding the internet as did the reaction from fans who expressed a mix of relief and disappointment.
The one upcoming Disney live action I was looking forward to. Although a smart move given snow white's abysmal losses. If moana and lilo and stich succeed I could see this getting resumed hopefully
— Park Mind (@AParkMind) April 3, 2025
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Disappointing news for Tangled fans!
— Neelu (@neelurao26) April 3, 2025
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However, Disney hasn’t completely abandoned its live-action ambitions. The studio has the live-action Lilo & Stitch due in theaters May 23 and is still on track to release a remake of Moana next year, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui. Perhaps if those other upcoming live-films perform well, there's still a chance that Rapunzel could finally let down her hair.