After just days in theaters, the wreckage of Haunted Mansion is already being sifted through after Disney did exactly what everyone was expecting it to do and unleashed another massive box office bomb into the world.
It might sound harsh to write off the blockbuster reboot when it only released on Friday, but when you consider the $157 million budget plus the additional marketing and distribution costs, a $24.5 million opening weekend that turned out lower than the Mouse House’s biggest flops of all-time ensures that there’s virtually no chance already it’ll turn a profit.
So what happened, then? Well, rebooting a 20 year-old Eddie Murphy movie that wasn’t exactly well-received to begin with or a runaway success definitely didn’t help, neither did the overriding sentiment that every single one of Disney’s attempts to capitalize on the success enjoyed by Pirates of the Caribbean two decades ago has failed miserably.
Of course, there’s also releasing a Halloween-tinged feature at the end of July, with analyst Jeff Bock hitting the nail squarely on the head in an interview with Variety.
“Disney definitely missed the memo trying to launch their spooky pic in the middle of summer. While horror can certainly succeed at any time on the release calendar, this family friendly product would have been much better served in the fall and sheltering clear of all the summer popcorn pics.”
It’s a “no sh*t, Sherlock” answer, but an entirely accurate one regardless. Disney Plus might win it new fans come spooky season, but that’s not going to do a thing to stem the financial bleeding.
