The 2023 family friendly horror movie The Haunted Mansion is ending its theatrical run with the film’s release on Disney+ on October 4th. The film has taken in a total of around $110 Million worldwide ($66 Million domestic and $54 Million international). However, that is far less than anybody at Disney was hoping for.
The film’s total production budget was an estimated $150 Million, with another $150 Million for marketing in total that leaves Disney with at least a $190 Million loss at the worldwide box office.
While it is true that plenty of Haunted Mansion-themed merchandise has been selling well, it has little to do with the overall film and more with the ride itself, Not to mention that the Halloween season is getting closer each day.
In comparison to the 2003 version of The Haunted Mansion, that film had a total budget of $90 Million with a total box office gross of $182.3 Million, meaning that it at least came close to breaking even if we were to assume that the marketing budget was the same.
The 2023 film had been in production hell for years when Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro was set to direct in 2010. But like most del Toro productions, he later left the project. In 2020, the production restarted with Justin Simien attached to direct. In 2021 a Muppets Haunted Mansion special was made for Disney+ as production on the reboot was underway.
The reasons for this film’s box office failure can be attributed to a few factors. The first one being that it was released at the end of July and not around Halloween when it would be more appropriate. The second reason is that it went up against Barbie and Oppenheimer, both of which released one week before. The third is the attitude of “I’ll catch it when it comes out on Disney+.”
The film joins the list of box office bombs for Disney in 2023 alongside Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and the Live-Action Remake of The Little Mermaid. The only thing scary that this movie caused was Disney executives seeing that their wallets were empty.
Source: Box Office Mojo
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