Disney’s live-action update stars Zegler as the iconic princess, while Gal Gadot plays the evil queen.

Disney’s Snow White live-action remake — starring Rachel Zegler as the iconic princess — is tracking to open to $53 million at the North American box office, according to a leading Hollywood research firm. While that’s the target number, the range is anywhere from $48 million to $58 million.

There’s sure to be plenty of debate as to whether that would be a solid-versus-meh start for the spring tentpole.

Directed by Marc Webb, the musical fantasy opens in three weeks, on March 21. Gal Gadot stars as the Evil Queen in the reimagining of the 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the movie was a transformational moment for Walt Disney’s young studio).

The studio’s marketing team will now unleash its final push for Snow White. Disney believes the movie has a perfect runway, considering it will be surrounded by male-driven action fare.

Those with access to data provided by the National Research Group show there is high awareness for the movie among its target demos, i.e., younger and teenage girls, as well as females of all ages. Other tracking services, such as The Quorum, believe the movie has plenty of upside. In March 2015, Disney’s live-action Cinderella debuted to $67 million domestically.

Rival studios agree, saying Disney should never be underestimated. Over this past Christmas, many were quick to write off Mufasa: The Lion King when it debuted to a troublesome $35 million domestically before taking off and earning north of $700 million globally.

From Wicked producers Marc Platt and Jared LeBoff, the musical features both original songs from the 1937 film and new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman), including the ballad “Waiting on a Wish.”

The story sees Snow White (Zegler) fleeing to the woods from her stepmother, played by Gadot, where the princess meets her beloved sidekicks — Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy — as they offer safety.

The $200 million-plus tentpole has been a long time in the making, having been delayed by the pandemic. It also weathered immediate controversy when Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, was cast in the role of Snow White.

In a recent interview, the West Side Story actress went on to speak about differences to expect between the 20th and 21st century versions of the Snow White film. “It’s very important for the public to know that Disney has found this beautiful and delicate balance between the animated classic that everyone knows and loves from 1937, and at the same time, introduces it to this new generation,” she said. “Her superpower is her heart.”