Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” is the latest example of the entertainment giant’s failure to capture audiences, opening to a mere $24.2 million, one of the lowest starts among Disney’s live-action remakes or reimagining of theme park attractions.
“Haunted Mansion” performed worse than experts expected, predicting it would top at least $30 million during its opening weekend. The movie struggled to draw in family audiences due to unbiblical views on the supernatural and its emphasis on occultism.
A portion of Movieguide’s review reads, “The new ‘Haunted Mansion’ has some funny, exciting, scary moments, but its ghost story lacks credibility. Also, the demonic villain doesn’t show up until the second act. ‘Haunted Mansion’ has a strong occult worldview and false occult theology. This unbiblical content is slightly mitigated by some positive moral, redemptive elements.”
The review continues, “For instance, it has a strong mother figure in the boy’s mother. However, ‘Haunted Mansion’s’ ending is too occult and unbiblical. Hollywood would do better if it took a Christian, biblical approach to the supernatural, like the movie ‘Nefarious.’” The ongoing actors’ strike also hurt the movie’s release. The star-studded cast, including Lakeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Owen Wilson, couldn’t promote the film or attend the Disneyland premiere.
“Haunted Mansion” is another unfortunate flop among Disney’s theatrical failures. Disney had already lost an estimated $900 million coming into the summer. “Haunted Mansion” and the company’s other summer release “Elemental” have only added to those losses. “Elemental” cost $200 million to produce before marketing but only grossed $145 million at the box office. “Haunted Mansion” cost $150 million before marketing.
Movieguide previously reported that investors have been seriously questioning Disney over the past year as the company has struggled in nearly every aspect of its business. Disney+ has struggled for the first time since its release in 2020, with many of its releases seeing lukewarm reception at best and the platform’s subscriber numbers decreasing for the first time.
To make matters worse, Disney’s theme parks have seen their lowest attendance numbers in years. Despite multiple lucrative deals, the theme park prices have proven too high for families, even at the height of vacation season.
“Haunted Mansion” shows how rejecting family-friendly values in films will cost studios financially. Disney should reconsider their strategy to recover, especially as its public perception drops due to the company’s response to the WGA and SAG strikes. Disney should return to creating family-friendly films that promote strong Christian and moral values instead of continuing down the losing path it’s currently on.