Honestly, the drama surrounding the 2025 Snow White remake started so long before the first trailer even dropped that the actual movie almost felt like an afterthought. You've probably seen the headlines. The internet spent two years dissecting Rachel Zegler’s interviews and arguing over CGI dwarfs before anyone actually sat in a theater seat. Now that the dust has settled and the numbers are in, the snow white live action ratings tell a story that's a lot more complicated than just "it was good" or "it was bad."
It’s a weird split.
On one hand, you have the "verified" crowd who actually paid for tickets, and on the other, you have the wild west of IMDb where things got... messy. If you're looking for a simple answer on whether people liked it, you won't find one. You have to look at the gap between the critics, the fans, and the people who just wanted to see a train wreck.
The Brutal Numbers: Rotten Tomatoes vs. IMDb
When we talk about snow white live action ratings, the first place everyone looks is Rotten Tomatoes. The critics were pretty lukewarm. We're talking a 47% Tomatometer score. Most of them felt the movie was sort of "revisionist-lite"—trying to be modern but ending up a bit tangled in its own changes. Peter Bradshaw over at The Guardian was particularly sharp, calling it a "waste of estimable entertainers" and criticizing the "pseudo-progressive" tweaks that didn't quite land.
But then you look at the Verified Audience score. It hit 74%.
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That’s a massive 27-point gap. Usually, when you see a gap like that, it means the movie is a "crowd-pleaser" that critics found too simple. People who actually saw the film seemed to love Rachel Zegler’s voice—which, let’s be real, is phenomenal—and Gal Gadot’s "Evil Queen" performance, which many described as a fun, campy "evil bop."
The IMDb "Review Bomb" Situation
Then there’s the IMDb score. It’s sitting at a staggering 1.6/10.
Is the movie actually that bad? Probably not. Even the harshest critics didn't think it was a 1-star disaster. This is what happens when a movie becomes a cultural lightning rod. IMDb doesn't require you to prove you saw the movie to leave a rating. Because of the controversies—everything from Zegler’s comments about the 1937 original being "weird" to the choice of CGI dwarfs—the film was flooded with hundreds of thousands of 1-star reviews within hours of release.
It’s less of a rating and more of a protest.
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Why the Ratings Are So Polarized
The reason snow white live action ratings are all over the map basically comes down to three things: nostalgia, technology, and PR.
First, the CGI dwarfs. This was a huge sticking point. Disney tried to avoid stereotypes by using motion-capture characters, but the result was often described as "uncanny" or "unsettling." It’s hard to win over an audience when the main supporting characters look like they belong in a video game from 2012.
Second, the story changes. In this version, Snow White isn't waiting for a prince. Her love interest, Jonathan (played by Andrew Burnap), is a bandit, and her goal is more about becoming the leader her father wanted her to be. For some, this was a breath of fresh air. For others, it felt like Disney was "fixing" something that wasn't broken.
- Rachel Zegler's Performance: Almost every review—even the bad ones—admitted she can sing. Her "Waiting on a Wish" is a standout.
- Gal Gadot's Screen Presence: She leaned into the villainy. It wasn't subtle, but it was entertaining.
- The Visuals: Outside of the dwarfs, the world-building was vibrant. The "Whistle While You Work" sequence was actually quite charming.
Box Office Reality Check
Ratings are one thing, but money is another. Despite the 74% audience score, the film struggled at the box office. With a production budget estimated between $240 million and $270 million, it needed to clear $500 million just to break even. It ended its theatrical run around **$206 million worldwide**.
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In Hollywood terms, that’s a "box office bomb."
Interestingly, the movie found a second life on streaming. When it hit Disney+ in June 2025, it spiked by over 400% in viewership. It seems like a lot of families who skipped the theater because of the online noise were perfectly happy to watch it from their couches. It even managed to rack up 581 million minutes of viewing in a single week, proving that the "brand" of Snow White still has pull, even if the theatrical release was rocky.
What You Should Actually Do
If you’re on the fence about watching it based on the snow white live action ratings, here is the most practical advice:
- Ignore the IMDb score. It’s not a reflection of the filmmaking; it’s a reflection of the internet's mood.
- Watch the trailers for the music. If you don't like Zegler's vocal style, you won't like the movie. The songs are the backbone of the film.
- Lower your expectations for the CGI. Go in knowing the dwarfs look a little weird, and you won't be as distracted by them.
- Check it out on Disney+. Since it’s already on streaming, there’s no financial risk if you’re already a subscriber. It’s a much better "living room movie" than a "theatrical event."
The "fairest of them all" might not have conquered the box office, but the ratings show that there’s still a core audience that appreciates the magic, even when it’s bundled with a lot of modern baggage.
Check the Disney+ trending charts to see how it’s currently pacing against other live-action remakes like The Little Mermaid or Mufasa. Compare the musical arrangements of "Heigh-Ho" to the original to see which version of the dwarfs' anthem fits your vibe better. Finally, look for the "Making Of" featurettes on the Blu-ray if you want to see the actual motion-capture work that went into the dwarfs—it explains a lot about why they look the way they do.