Looking at the poor box office performance of the likes of Elementals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania often makes us wonder how Disney is dealing with the hard blows. Well, the Mouse House has had plenty of practice.
The recent string of disappointments is hardly the first time — and obviously, not the last based on Disney’s increasingly nonsensical antics — that the studio has had to power through jaw-dropping financial losses courtesy of its creations, even when they get blessed with glowing reviews.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Yes, today The Black Cauldron has a cult following, but that meant squat when it was released back in 1985, as the most expensive animated film of its time, and tanked at the box office – barely grossing $21.3 million against a budget of $44 million. Panned for being too dark and frightening, the fantasy adventure film was complete with an assistant pig-keeper trying to stop the Horned King from getting his greedy hands on the mystical Black Cauldron to conjure an army of undead warriors.
Though the money it lost sounds very small today, the financial loss was so big that The Black Cauldron earned the title of “the film that almost killed Disney” as its being a costly disappointment put a rather ominous cloud over the animation department’s future. The fact that the low-budget The Care Bears Movie by the rather small Canadian animation company Nelvana managed to outperform a film by Disney didn’t really make things better.
Strange World (2022)
Strange World, which sees the brave Clade family embark on a self-appointed journey to save the miracle plant, Pando, is a bonkers case. The critics sang its praises while the audience was not exactly wooed by its theatrical release, but upon its streaming release on Disney Plus, it retained its position as the number one film being watched for almost three weeks. But if you were to simply focus on the box office numbers, you could see why it is termed a disaster.
If the estimates are to be believed, the film was a box office dud and cost Disney a loss of around $197 million.
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
If there is ever a contest of bad remakes, Around the World in 80 Days would give every other title stiff competition. A remake of the 1956 five-Oscar-winning film of the same name, the 2004 version solely endeavored to be so goofy that it barely resembled the novel the original was based on.
Focusing heavily on Jackie Chan’s robber/valet Passepartout instead of the actual protagonist of the story, Phileas Fogg, Around the World in 80 Days only managed to earn $72 million of the $110 million Disney invested in its creation and promotion, but did get Arnold Schwarzenegger the Worst Supporting Actor’s Razzie nomination, and won him a Stinker Award in the same category.
Jungle Cruise (2021)
Yes, Dwayne Johnson is the franchise king, and more often than not, his lucrative projects end up winning the box office if not the critics’ approval. And while Jungle Cruise managed to do both with Johnson and Emily Blunt at the helm, as they navigate the treacherous Amazon River to find the mythical Tree of Life while being chased by its cursed conquerors, it actually lost $151 million.
Given its booming budget, Jungle Cruise had to earn $500 million just to break even. But seeing that it was expected to do much worse as it was released during the COVID pandemic, the film actually overperformed, which explains why there is a sequel in the works. At least this film having a sequel makes sense, unlike Titanic 2.
Turning Red (2022)
Directed by Domee Shi — which makes it the first Pixar film to be solely directed by a woman — Turning Red depicted the pains and perils of growing up via a novel metaphorical concept that saw its 13-year-old protagonist turn into a giant red panda every time she experienced a strong emotion.
It received an Oscar nomination and became a critical darling, but failed to work the same magic in terms of earnings, primarily because of its selective theatrical release alongside the prominent streaming debut. It earned a little over $20 million at the global box office against a budget of $167 million.
Mulan (2020)
Disney’s resume in its live-action adaptations of animated classics hasn’t exactly been a rousing success and Mulan is one top example of the same. The film was wrapped in controversies from the very beginning — the largely absent presence of those of Chinese descent in the production team, deviation from the original story, and a number of other issues — and the shadow followed it even after its release.
Plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mulan also received a limited theatrical release and a streaming Disney Plus release in other countries. It barely made $70 million of its towering $200 million while battling criticisms for inaccurately depicting cultural and historical facts as well as indulging in a stereotypical representation of China. But again, it was well received by non-Asian critics, thus convincing Disney that it is worthy of a sequel.
Tomorrowland (2015)
This one is proof that just having George Clooney in a film is not enough to save it. Now Tomorrowland has its dedicated section of loyal fans who adored its original premise of an alternate dimension holding a machine having the ability to predict when the real world will end, which is directly affected by the decisions of humans.
It also managed to somewhat impress critics, but not the box office as it lost up to $150 million.
Mars Needs Moms (2011)
Another one of Disney’s animated failures, Mars Needs Moms lost up to $144 million as the audience outright rejected its plot of a 9-year-old boy embarking on a mission to save his mom abducted by aliens as well as its visual effects, criticizing it for focusing way too much on technical flair while barely paying any attention to the screenplay.
It didn’t just tank, it took down its studio, ImageMovers Digital, which was shut down by Disney after Mars Needs Moms became its second financial dud after A Christmas Carol (that incurred an estimated loss of up to $100 million).
The 13th Warrior (1999)
The Antonio Banderas-starrer is still remembered as 1999’s biggest box office failure as its $61 million gross earnings cost Disney $129 million in losses. The films revolves around Ahmand ibn Fadlan, a court poet, who is exiled as an “ambassador” and finds himself joining the Norsemen against an evil foe who ceases to be a legend anymore.
John Carter (2012)
While Disney’s Marvel Studios successfully laid down the foundation of a lucrative franchise, the Mouse House’s attempt to do the same with John Carter failed on a cosmic level.
Based on the first book in the Barsroom novel series, the film details the adventures of Virginian soldier John Carter who is transported to Mars and gets busy trying to quell a civil unrest amid its many kingdoms. Its heart-dropping budget that ballooned to $350 million, needed box office earnings of at least $600 million just to qualify as neither a loss nor a success. You know how much it managed to scrape? $284.1 million.
Needless to say, Disney canceled its plans to create a trilogy ASAP.
