When Disney’s highly anticipated live-action remake of "Snow White" hit theaters in early 2025, few could have predicted the scale of its commercial misfortune. Despite a star-studded cast led by Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler, the film stumbled at the box office, grossing just $205.6 million worldwide against a staggering production budget estimated between $240 million and $270 million. The result: a loss of at least $115 million for the entertainment giant, according to multiple reports from Deadline, Fox News, and The Independent.
Now, as the dust settles, the reasons behind this cinematic flop have become a subject of heated debate—one that reaches far beyond the usual Hollywood chatter about scripts and special effects. At the heart of the controversy is Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who played the Evil Queen, and her candid reflections on how geopolitics, social media, and personal identity collided with the film’s fate.
On August 17, 2025, Gadot took to her Instagram Stories to clarify remarks she’d made during a recent appearance on the Israeli talk show The A Talks. There, she discussed the intense pressure on celebrities to take public stances on the Israel-Hamas conflict, especially after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel—a watershed moment that, she argued, reverberated throughout Hollywood and beyond.
“Sometimes we respond to questions from an emotional place. When the film came out, I felt that those who are against Israel criticized me in a very personal, almost visceral way. They saw me, first and foremost, as an Israeli, not as an actress. That’s the perspective I spoke from when I answered the question,” Gadot wrote on Instagram, as reported by Deadline and Page Six. She added, “Of course, the film didn’t fail solely because of external pressures. There are many factors that determine why a film succeeds or fails, and success is never guaranteed.”
Gadot, who served in the Israel Defense Forces and has long been an outspoken supporter of Israel, found herself at the center of a storm. According to The Independent, her public support for Israel led to an uptick in death threats, prompting Disney to ramp up security measures for her and her family. “I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn’t do well at the box office,” she admitted on The A Talks. “You can always explain and try to give people in the world a context about what’s happening and what the reality is here, but in the end, people decide for themselves.”
But Gadot wasn’t the only cast member caught in the crossfire of public opinion. Rachel Zegler, who portrayed Snow White, faced her own wave of backlash for her vocal support of Palestine and for controversial social media posts, including an anti-Donald Trump message following the 2024 U.S. presidential election. As Fox News and Page Six detailed, Zegler’s posts included lines like “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace” and “And always remember, free Palestine.” These statements led to calls for her removal from the film and sparked heated debates online. Producer Marc Platt reportedly even traveled to New York to persuade Zegler to take down her posts—a request she refused.
The ideological divide between Gadot and Zegler—one an Israeli military veteran, the other a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights—became a lightning rod for controversy, fueling rumors of on-set tension. Yet, both actresses have publicly denied any animosity. “I really enjoyed filming this movie,” Gadot said on The A Talks. “I even enjoyed working with Rachel Zegler. We laughed, we talked and it was fun. I was sure that this movie was going to be a huge success.”
Still, the external noise was impossible to ignore. The October 7 Hamas attacks, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel and led to a devastating retaliatory campaign by Israel in Gaza (with over 61,897 reported deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry), became a flashpoint for public discourse around the film. As anti-Israel sentiment spread in the wake of the conflict, Gadot noted a shift in how she was perceived. “When the film came out, I felt that those who are against Israel criticized me in a very personal, almost visceral way,” she repeated on Instagram. “They saw me, first and foremost, as an Israeli, not as an actress.”
Critical reception did little to help the film’s fortunes. Reviews were, to put it kindly, brutal. The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey called the remake “disappointing” and “confusing,” singling out lackluster performances from both Zegler and Gadot. The film’s opening weekend haul of $43 million was a far cry from what Disney executives had hoped for, especially given the studio’s investment and the fanfare surrounding the project.
Of course, not everyone in the industry or among audiences attributes the film’s failure solely to political controversy. As Gadot herself emphasized, “There are many factors that determine why a film succeeds or fails, and success is never guaranteed.” Some point to the broader challenges facing Disney’s recent live-action remakes, which have sometimes struggled to recapture the magic of their animated predecessors. Others cite the film’s script, direction, and marketing as contributing factors.
Yet, the intersection of identity, politics, and entertainment in "Snow White’s" saga is hard to ignore. Gadot’s experience is emblematic of a larger trend in Hollywood, where stars are increasingly expected to take sides on global events—and where those stances can have real consequences for their careers and the projects they touch. “There’s a lot of pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel,” Gadot said on The A Talks, echoing a sentiment shared by others in the industry who have found themselves navigating similar minefields.
For Zegler, the backlash was just as intense, though it came from a different direction. Her advocacy for Palestine and her outspoken criticism of Donald Trump made her a target for critics on the right, while her comments about the “dated” plot of the original "Snow White" (calling the prince’s actions “stalking”) drew ire from traditionalists and Disney fans alike. “That’s how it goes. You win some, you lose some,” Gadot reflected, perhaps summing up the sense of resignation that has settled over the project.
As the conversation continues, "Snow White’s" fate stands as a cautionary tale for Hollywood: in an era of hyper-polarized public discourse, even a fairy tale can be swept up in the real-world battles over identity, politics, and the power of celebrity. The story of Gadot, Zegler, and Disney’s ill-fated remake is a reminder that, sometimes, the forces that shape a film’s success or failure are far bigger—and far messier—than anything that happens on screen.
