Pinewood Studios' Snow White film received millions in tax breaks

A new live-action adaptation of Snow White, starring West Side Story's Rachel Zegler and scheduled for release in 2024, has not been without its controversies, whether for casting Zegler, who is of Columbian descent, in the titular role or recruiting just one dwarf actor for Snow White's band of companions. 

Disney announced earlier this year that the latest version of the classic fairytale would replace the seven dwarfs with "magical creatures" to avoid perpetuating "stereotypes" and Zegler countered criticism that the film was too 'politically correct' by painting it as a story in need of "refreshing". 

Accounts recently filed by entertainment conglomerate Disney's UK subsidiary Hidden Heart Productions have now also revealed that the production, which was filmed at Pinewood Studios and on location across the UK in mid-2022, had an overall cost of £150.5 million and received £29.5 million in tax relief. 

The UK film industry has seen a boom in recent years, with record-breaking films including Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Disney's The Little Mermaid produced in the country despite being handled by US-based distributors.

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Government tax breaks for filmmakers have played a not-insignificant role in this shift, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt raising tax credits for film and television productions to 34 per cent in March while sustaining the qualifiable threshold for high-end TV at £1 million. 

The British Film Institute (BFI) reported that spending on UK productions hit a record high of over £6 billion last year, of which a sizeable cut came from spending overseas and Ben Roberts, chief executive at the BFI, told the BBC that he believed the increased prominence of the UK as a filmmaking destination was helping to shape "world-renowned" acting talent.

There are concerns, however, not only about the levels of tax breaks being awarded to big-name companies but also about the impact of the ongoing Hollywood strikes on British staff working on international productions. 

The head of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union, Philippa Childs told the BBC yesterday (September 19) that many of its members have been "laid off from productions under 'force Majeure clauses' with little notice or pay" and The Telegraph reported last month that Pinewood Studios had become a "ghost town" while writers and actors in the US halt production over the pond over concerns relating to to pay and the use of AI.