Disney's Epic Box Office Struggles: Their Most Challenging Theme Park Movie Debut in Almost Two Decades!
Disney's latest theme park movie, Haunted Mansion, disappoints at the box office, raising questions about its underperformance
Summary
Disney's latest movie adaptation of the Haunted Mansion theme park attraction has had a disappointing opening weekend, earning less than expected at $24-$25 million.
The second Haunted Mansion film, starring a star-studded cast, has not been successful at the box office, despite surpassing the opening weekend performance of the 2003 version starring Eddie Murphy. It is considered one of Disney's least successful theme park adaptations, falling behind movies such as Mission to Mars and The Country Bears.
Disney's Haunted Mansion 2023 had the lowest opening weekend for a movie based on a theme park attraction in twenty years. Released on July 28th, this is the second film adaptation of the renowned theme park ride, following Eddie Murphy's 2003 version. Despite boasting a star-studded cast including Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto, the movie fell short at the box office. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it earned $24-$25 million during its three-day opening, below initial expectations. This places it just slightly above or below the original 2003 film's opening of $24.3 million (without adjusting for inflation). Regardless, Haunted Mansion still ranks among the worst Disney theme park adaptations, taking the fourth spot behind The Haunted Mansion, 2000's Mission to Mars ($22.9 million), and 2002's The Country Bears ($5.3 million).
Why Haunted Mansion is Underperforming at the Box Office
Haunted Mansion is starting off on a grim note. With its production cost of $150 million, there is a substantial risk that it may not even recoup its expenses, let alone its marketing and advertising costs. To be considered successful, it is estimated that the movie would need to surpass the even higher benchmark of $314 million.
Several factors contribute to the underperformance of the film. Firstly, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has led to actors demanding fair compensation and consequently refusing to participate in promotional campaigns for affected productions. As a result, the Haunted Mansion premiere was attended by costumed Disney characters instead of the film's stars. The lack of publicity in the past two weeks has greatly diminished its chances of turning a profit, highlighting the crucial role actors play in promoting their projects.
Apart from contending with the ongoing strike and facing stiff competition from the blockbuster hits Barbie and Oppenheimer, Haunted Mansion has also received negative reviews from critics. Currently, its rating stands at 41 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is considerably higher at 85 percent. Nonetheless, this may have deterred potential viewers who were already informed about the movie's release this weekend.
