New ‘Snow White’ tops North America box office despite grumpy reviews

This image released by Disney shows Rachel Zegler in a scene from "Snow White." (Disney via AP) (Disney/AP)

Disney’s remake of “Snow White” topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of US$43 million, but faces stiff winds -- and some horrendous reviews -- to make up its huge production costs.

The new live-action version starring Rachel Zegler, which comes 90 years after the original blockbuster, has faced a series of woes -- from the Covid pandemic to criticism of its use of CGI, not real actors, to portray the seven dwarves.

The film’s budget topped out at an estimated $250 million and it has become “one of the most troubled projects in Disney’s 102-year history,” according to The New York Times.

Some reviews have been scathing -- the Guardian called it “toe-curlingly terrible” -- while others were a bit kinder, with The Washington Post calling it “surprisingly entertaining” and audiences giving generally positive feedback.

“While it’s a disappointing opening weekend, we can’t write off the film’s performance until we see how it holds up in the coming weeks,” said Daniel Loria, senior vice president at the Boxoffice Company.

Focus Features' spy thriller “Black Bag” starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett ticked up a notch from last weekend to second place, earning $4.4 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

In third place, also up one spot from last weekend, was Marvel and Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” at $4.1 million. Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford star in the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black comedy “Mickey 17” from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho slipped to fourth place, at $3.9 million.

Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo star in the Warner Bros. sci-fi tale about the many lives -- and deaths -- of a man who volunteers for hazardous space missions.

And last weekend’s leader, Paramount’s action-comedy “Novocaine,” suffered a painful drop in ticket sales, taking in just $3.8 million. Jack Quaid plays a banker who, unlike Hollywood studios, cannot feel pain.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“The Alto Knights” ($3.2 million)

“The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” ($1.8 million)

“The Monkey” ($1.55 million)

“Dog Man” ($1.5 million)

“The Last Supper” ($1.3 million)