Disney’s live-action remake ofSnow Whitehas received most of the attention from this weekend’s box office results, but it wasn’t even the biggest box office disappointment; that title belongs to Robert De Niro’s new movieThe Alto Knights. While the two films could not be more different,Snow WhiteandThe Alto Knightsshared the privilege of releasing in theaters on July 29, 2025. Disney and Warner Bros. put the two movies out on the same day. In theory, both should have been major box office hits, given who was involved.
Given the notoriety of Disney’s live-action remakes, the original animated movie, andSnow White’s massive budget, the Rachel Zegler-starring musical unsurprisingly won its weekend. However, that accomplishment did not come exactly as expected.Snow White’s $43 million opening weekendis viewed as a significant disappointment, pointing to it being a box office flop at the end of its theatrical run.The Alto Knightswas never going to come close to matchingSnow White’s box office haul, even in the best outcome. But Robert De Niro’s gangster movie is really a bigger box office bomb, statistically speaking.
Robert De Niro’s Movie Opened Outside The Top 5
The Alto Knights' opening weekend box officefigures were horrible. The movie only made $3.1 million at the domestic box office during its first three days of release. The movie didn’t get much help overseas either, as it only made $1.9 million abroad. That givesThe Alto Knightsa $5 million worldwide box officeafter its opening weekend. That’s certainly not what Warner Bros. hoped for when they greenlit the period drama from director Barry Levinson and got Robert De Niro to play two roles, increasing the cost of production in the process.
One of the main reasonsThe Alto Knightsgot made is because of Warner Bros.’s CEO, David Zaslav. At the same time as he was busy canceling finished movies to get tax breaks, he"championed"that the movie should still happen after taking control of the company in 2022 (viaTHR). This led to the film’s greenlight witha risky $45 million to $50 million budget. Movies typically need to make two and a half times their budget at the box office to become successful. That putThe Alto Knights' target box office total at potentially $125 million.
Snow White Has A Better Chance Of Breaking Even
Image via Disney
Snow White’s budget may be a lot higher thanThe Alto Knights, but Disney’s live-action remake is in a better position to potentially earn back a majority of its cost. With a budget reportedly anywhere as low as $209 million and as high as $269 million,Snow White’s $43 million opening weekend domestically means the film has recouped roughly 15-20% of its budget already. If we look at the movie’s worldwide box office total of $87.3 million, thenDisney has made back 32-41% of what it cost to make the movie.
There’s a chanceSnow Whitecould at least get its budget back, even if it is a box office loss by the end of its theatrical run. That’s not the same spotin whichThe Alto Knightsnow finds itself. The Robert De Niro film has made an even smaller fraction of its budget to this point.The Alto Knightsopening weekend domestic numbers amount to only 6% of its budget. Even if we take its global total into consideration, the film has still only made 10% of its budget back.
$43 million
$87.3 million
$3.1 million
$5 million
6% (Domestic)
10% (Worldiwde)
Any way you slice it,The Alto Knightsis in a worse spot financially thanSnow White. It might not garner the same level of reaction given the lower expectations, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The Alto Knights Continues A Rough Stretch For Warner Bros. At The Box Office
WB Has Struggled To Get Box Office Hits The Last Year
The Alto Knights' box office numbers are bad enough on their own, but they get even worse when looking at how Warner Bros. movies have done recently. This year alone, the studio has now had two high-profile films underperform financially.The Alto KnightsjoinsMickey 17as a higher-budget genre movie from an Oscar-winning director featuring a lead actor playing dual rolesthat Warner Bros. distributed and struggled at the box office.
Mickey 17has done a lot better thanThe Alto Knights, to be fair, but with its $200 million budget, both movies are on track to lose money for the studio.The biggest win for Warner Bros. this year so far has beenCompanion, the Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher sci-fi/horror/romance movie that made $36.5 million worldwide. The film is a profitable release for the studio given its $10 million budget. However, there may have also been some hope that it’d be a much bigger hit given the horror genre, early year release date, and strong reviews.
The Alto Knights' box office struggles connect to Warner Bros.’s issues in getting audiences to see their movies in theaters. After doing day-and-date streaming and theatrical releases for all titles during the pandemic, WB has had some major misfires.Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewas its last unquestionable box office hit after making over $450 million. The Tim Burton-directed sequel came out in September 2024, soit’s been six months since a Warner Bros. movie made over $200 million worldwide.
While 2024 gave the studio hits early on withDune: Part TwoandGodzilla X Kong: The New Empire, it also brought disappointments withHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1,The Watchers,Trap, andFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga. WithThe Alto Knights, Warner Bros.’s rough stretch continues.
The Alto Knights
Cast
The Alto Knights is a crime drama set in 1950s New York, chronicling the power struggle between organized crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Former allies turned rivals, their escalating conflict threatens to redefine the Mafia and impact American society.
Snow White
A live-action adaptation of the classic fairy tale. The film follows Snow White as she escapes into the forest and seeks refuge with seven dwarfs to elude her jealous stepmother, the wicked Queen, who is threatened by Snow White’s surpassing beauty.
