- - This day in history: Disney’s “Cinderella” opens in theaters

Nourhan SandoukFebruary 15, 2026 at 4:56 AM

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On February 15, 1950, Walt Disney’s animated feature Cinderella opened in theaters across the United States. A Disney’s classic fairytale, a musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures.

In 1937, Walt Disney took a massive gamble on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, investing $1.5 million of his own money into the first-ever full-length animated movie. The risk was a huge success, earning $8 million during the Great Depression. While hits like Pinocchio and Bambi followed, production eventually stalled due to economic problems during World War II. During this time, the studio released package films to keep audiences satisfied like Make Mine Music (1946)

As a comeback to Disney long animated movies, Disney chose Cinderella because the story felt in a way similar to the Snow White story. Based on Charles Perrault’s French fairy tale, the movie follows a young girl mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. With help from mice and a Fairy Godmother, she escapes her life to marry Prince Charming. The film became a classic, known for its happy ending and famous songs like “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”.

On the film’s release day, the Mayfair Theatre in New York opened its doors early to a line of 200 people. Even though children were off from school, the crowd was surprisingly made up of mostly adults.

Within just a few weeks, Cinderella was breaking local box office records and performing as well as major live-action films. At the time, movie industry leaders were worried that people were losing interest in going to the cinema. It turned out that a magical animated story was exactly what audiences wanted, and Walt Disney’s big risk was a success.

The film also featured unforgettable music like “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes“. These songs were created by Tin Pan Alley songwriters, marking a new way for Disney to create music hits through their films.

The movie earned enough money to pay off the studio’s debts and fund future projects. Because of Cinderella’s success, Walt Disney was able to move forward with new ideas, including the construction of Disneyland and more animated films like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

Cinderella earned Academy Award nominations for Best Song “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, Best Sound, and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. It also won awards at the Venice and Berlin International Film Festivals.

In April 1950, several of the original voice actors performed the story again for a radio broadcast. Over the years, the movie was released in theaters several more times and became a top seller when it was released on home video.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”