It’s unfortunate but common in the movie industry for films to underperform at the box office, even those produced by big studios like Walt Disney Studios. The quality of a film, whether it’s excellent or poor, doesn’t always guarantee audience interest due to numerous factors unrelated to its actual worth. This is not limited to ordinary blockbusters that fell short of their budget recovery targets.
Despite facing significant criticism and underperformance, movies like “The Marvels” managed to escape severe consequences. To put it into perspective, the MCU’s least successful film didn’t jeopardize the entire franchise or end the careers of its main stars. Conversely, these Disney blockbusters performed so poorly that they either halted future plans or came close to bankrupting the studio. Remarkably, Disney has managed to maintain its cultural dominance even after such significant setbacks.
| Budget | $30 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $50 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $26 million |
| International Box Office | $23 million |
Winnie the Pooh is an all-time favorite character, yet the affection and memories associated with him didn’t lead to strong box office performances. In the late 2000s, Disney made an attempt to rejuvenate their classic traditionally animated films, starting with “The Princess and the Frog” and ending with “Winnie-the-Pooh”. Both of these movies received positive feedback and managed to break even, but they didn’t meet Disney’s high expectations.
At present, it can be said that Winnie the Pooh represented Disney’s final endeavor in producing a large-scale traditional animated film. Furthermore, they abandoned their strategy of alternating between 2D and 3D animations every few years. Due to the movie’s underperformance, Disney ceased operations for its 2D animation department and shifted focus towards computer-generated imagery (CGI) productions. Although Winnie the Pooh remains cherished by Disney, it seems unlikely that he will grace the big screen again anytime soon.
| 1985 Statistics | Adjusted for Inflation | |
| Budget | $44 million | $132 million |
| Total Box Office | $21 million | $63 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $21 million | $63 million |
| International Box Office | Data not available | Data not available |
Disney has long been associated with animated films, but in 1985, a movie failure threatened to change that. The film, , struggled during a challenging time for American animation. At the time, animation was often dismissed as kids’ entertainment or commercials for toys. The poor performance of the darker and more edgy film “The Black Cauldron” seemed to confirm this viewpoint – it appeared that this was the limit of what American animation could achieve.
It wasn’t beneficial that The Black Cauldron, the costliest animated movie of the ’80s, turned out to be one of the biggest flops of that era. Disney was on the verge of abandoning its entire animation sector following this failure. However, they managed to recover during Disney’s legendary Renaissance period. Now, the studio tends to act as though The Black Cauldron had never been made at all.
| Budget | $140 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $110 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $38 million |
| International Box Office | $72 million |
When Disney’s animation renaissance reached a peak, the studio began to explore new territories beyond its well-known musical animations. For a short while during the 2000s, Disney produced high-grossing animated blockbusters and epics. One notable example was Treasure Planet, an expensive and ambitious sci-fi epic that was also the costliest traditionally animated film ever made in Hollywood. Unfortunately, despite its high production costs, it was one of the biggest flops in the history of the animation medium.
In 2002, “Treasure Planet” was a cherished movie, but it encountered fierce competition. One reason for this was that it was one of the few remaining 2D films in an era when 3D animation was rapidly gaining popularity. Despite its quality, it was almost like a remnant from a past time. Apart from holdovers such as “Brother Bear”, Disney ceased producing 2D films similar to “Treasure Planet” after it failed to perform well. They then shifted their focus to CGI animation, beginning with “Chicken Little”.
| Budget | $150 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $121 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $946,000 |
| International Box Office | $121 million |
At a most inconvenient moment, the movie Soul had its theatrical release halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following promising responses during press and festival screenings. In an effort to reap some earnings from the film, Disney opted to stream Soul on their streaming platform, Disney+. This unforeseen move, which ultimately led to lasting detrimental effects, was necessitated by a unique predicament that continues to resonate negatively today.
Starting with “Soul,” Disney shifted to streaming services, a move made as pandemic restrictions eased. Whether this was Disney’s plan or not, the streaming release of “Soul” diminished the prestige and theatrical exclusivity that Pixar films previously held. Disney and Pixar managed to bounce back when “Inside Out 2” earned a billion dollars, but the harm has already been inflicted.
| Budget | $200 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $221 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $117 million |
| International Box Office | $104 million |
In 2021, Disney released the movie “Jungle Cruise,” their latest effort at turning a theme park attraction into a film and leveraging Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s fame. However, this film faced an issue as it came out over a decade after audiences had waned in interest for both theme park ride adaptations and Johnson’s type of stardom. Despite recovering its production costs, the movie did not cover additional expenses. In fact, Disney revealed that “Jungle Cruise” needed a staggering $500 million just to break even.
Apart from “Haunted Mansion,” which was already being made in 2021, Disney decided to halt the production of films based on theme park rides due to a financial flop. Even the supposed sequel/reboot of “Pirates of the Caribbean” is now questionable. “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Adam” led Dwayne Johnson to take a break from blockbusters. Instead, he’s transitioning into serious dramas, starting with “The Smashing Machine.
| Budget | $200 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $70 million |
| Domestic Box Office | Data not available |
| International Box Office | $70 million |
Right from the outset, the live-action adaptation of Mulan was predetermined for trouble. Not only did this remake stray significantly from the cherished animated predecessor, but Disney chose to work hand-in-hand with the authoritative Chinese government in its production. To add insult to injury, Mulan became the first film to be released via the Disney+ Premiere Access service, allowing subscribers to stream it at home prior to its cinema debut.
In simple terms, the movie Mulan received harsh criticism from both critics and viewers, including Chinese audiences, which was surprising given Disney’s efforts to satisfy Chinese censors. The specific figures were never disclosed, but Mulan’s streaming performance was poor enough for Disney to terminate its Premiere Access service. After releasing a few more films on the same day as their theatrical release, the service was closed down in 2021.
| Budget | $250 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $261 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $89 million |
| International Box Office | $171 million |
Despite various attempts, Hollywood has struggled and ultimately flopped in bringing The Lone Ranger, a movie that later became one of Disney’s most significant disappointments. Interestingly, it even surpassed John Carter as the studio’s biggest box-office bomb a few years later. The film’s impact on the careers of those involved was devastating, and while many discuss its negative effects, fewer realize that it significantly influenced Disney’s approach to filmmaking thereafter.
The financial flop of “The Lone Ranger” movie, starring Johnny Depp, forced Disney to reconsider their approach to capitalizing on nostalgia and film stars. This realization came from the poor box office performance, suggesting that a familiar title or a famous actor’s name, like Depp’s, was no longer sufficient for guaranteed success. The shift in Disney’s strategy towards producing more contemporary nostalgic titles and character-focused productions can be attributed to the failure of “The Lone Ranger.
| Budget | $269 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $205 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $87 million |
| International Box Office | $118 million |
Disney’s live-action adaptations have often sparked controversy, but the backlash against Snow White reached unprecedented levels. As soon as its trailer was released, Snow White faced intense criticism and ridicule online. Furthermore, negative word-of-mouth and poor reviews led to disappointing box office earnings before it even hit theaters. In fact, the failure of Snow White was so significant that Disney decided to postpone all future live-action remakes.
Snow White herself wasn’t free from a malicious smear campaign orchestrated online by bigots, who unjustly vilified her remake as the most offensive movie ever made. Regrettably, these negative attitudes significantly impacted the film’s success, and unfortunately, Disney chose to blame its lead actress, Rachel Zegler, instead of acknowledging their shortcomings.
| Budget | $275 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $393 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $214 million |
| International Box Office | $179 million |
Had Disney’s plans unfolded as expected, the Star Wars universe would have seen numerous standalone films, branded as “A Tale from the Star Wars Universe.” This series kicked off with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” but it quickly came to a halt. Solo: A Star Wars Story wasn’t the least profitable Star Wars film (that title goes to The Clone Wars), but it suffered the greatest financial loss compared to its production budget.
As a result of Solo’s underperformance, all Star Wars standalone movies were moved to Disney+ streaming platform. The title ‘A Star Wars Story’ resurfaced only in Andor Season 2, which was nearly eight years after Solo’s disappointing box office run. The film faced difficulties during production, multiple director changes, and lack of marketing, which likely deterred audiences from watching it. Despite not being a complete disaster, Solo came close to putting the future of Star Wars films in jeopardy.
| Budget | $350 million |
|---|---|
| Total Box Office | $284 million |
| Domestic Box Office | $73 million |
| International Box Office | $211 million |
To this very moment, the movie “John Carter” remains Disney’s most expensive flop and significant box office disaster. The film’s poor performance at the ticket counter was so catastrophic that it not only halted the production of the planned John Carter trilogy, but also tarnished Taylor Kitsch’s reputation as a leading actor. Kitsch later regained momentum as a supporting actor, though he has yet to reclaim his lead role status. However, what made matters worse was that John Carter’s failure led to the resignation of Disney Studio’s then-chairman.
Rich Ross’ leadership was under scrutiny due to its aggressive nature, but his inability to prevent the escalating costs of “John Carter” ultimately led to his downfall. Moreover, the poor performance of “The Lone Ranger” during his tenure added fuel to the fire, resulting in two significant failures on his watch. The collapse of “John Carter” had a profound impact on Disney, causing them to abandon plans for new science fiction franchises and instead focus their efforts on established titles like “Star Wars” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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2025-05-25 04:55