Haunted Mansion Gets Buried By Barbie At The Box Office

When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake, theatergoers took a break. The long-awaited second try to make a good Haunted Mansion movie failed to amass a spirited wake as it underperformed on its opening weekend.

The LA Times reports that Oppenheimer and Barbie outperformed Haunted Mansion on its opening weekend. With a budget of $150 million, Haunted Mansion only managed to scare up $33M from domestic and global box offices.

There may still be some hope for Haunted Mansion to resurrect itself. Barbie’s ticket sales dropped 43% in one week. Likewise, Oppenheimer was down nearly the same amount. Perhaps those who gorged on pink and poison may crawl into cinemas to see something less political.

Critical acclaim for the ride-turned-feature film appears to be coming primarily from the audience. The second attempt to adapt the famous ride into a movie is currently sitting at 42% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score is far higher, sitting at 86%.

Could this be another case of “professional” reviewers being out of touch with what general audiences want? Possibly. Even we gave it an 8/10 score here.

The main criticisms I see from paid critics are that the film lacks scares or laughs. The cast is mainly praised, although the tone of Haunted Mansion sounds like it’s all over the place. Is it really that hard to make a haunted house movie using the iconic look of the Disneyland ride?

Coming out so soon after two mega hits like Barbie and Oppenheimer was bound to cost the Disney film money and a much-needed spotlight. Why this movie wasn’t always scheduled for October is a mystery to me.

Is it possible for Haunted Mansion to claw its way out of such a deep grave? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Source: LA Times]

[Source: Rotten Tomatoes]