The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2021–2023
Haunted Mansion: Disney's $150M ride film lost $117M — released into Barbenheimer
Disney's second Haunted Mansion movie cost $150M, opened to $24.1M in Barbenheimer's shadow, grossed $117.5M worldwide — and Deadline counted a $117M loss.
Walt Disney Pictures · 2023-07-28
What happened
Haunted Mansion — Disney's second film based on its theme-park ride, directed by Justin Simien and produced by Walt Disney Pictures with Rideback — cost $150 million to make. The studio positioned it as a summer family event, opening it on July 28, 2023.
It debuted to $24.1 million, finishing third behind Barbie and Oppenheimer — the two films that defined the summer. It closed with $67.7 million domestically and $49.8 million overseas, a worldwide total of $117.5 million against the $150 million budget.
Deadline's annual cost analysis calculated the net loss at $117 million, one of the biggest bombs of 2023. The failure repeated the pattern of the 2003 version, which had also disappointed — and the only thing the ride's fans got was confirmation that their beloved attraction did not need a movie.
Why it happened
- Disney released a $150M family film into the exact weekend Barbie and Oppenheimer owned: the marketing could not fight two cultural events, and a $24.1M third-place opening set the loss in stone.
- The ride is an experience, not a story: two attempts both failed because the attraction's charm is atmosphere, and a two-hour plot has to invent what the ride never needed — a narrative.
- The studio priced the film as a tentpole ($150M) while its audience was a niche of ride nostalgia: the budget matched the brand's value to Disney, not the box office the concept could actually draw.
The lesson
The calendar is part of the budget: Disney spent $150M and released into Barbenheimer — a $24.1M third-place opening made the loss inevitable. Schedule the film, not just finance it.
Sources
- Deadline — Disney Detonates Four Bombs In Deadline's 2023 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament
- Wikipedia — Haunted Mansion (2023 film)
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