Even the mouse house makes bad decisions sometimes! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at Disney productions that suffered the greatest loss at the box office, if not with audiences.
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00:00Our time has arrived.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at Disney productions that suffered the greatest loss at the box office, if not with audiences.
00:11What?
00:11Wow.
00:12It's a highway robbery!
00:13Number 20, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
00:16Give them hell, Indiana Jones!
00:20Indiana Jones is one of the most distinguished blockbuster brands of all time.
00:24Disney were understandably betting big with the Dial of Destiny.
00:27After all, the franchise's first theatrical release under their banner boasted a budget of $295 million.
00:34Dad was right.
00:36It works.
00:37Unfortunately, Indiana Jones' pursuit of a time-traveling artifact grossed just under $175 million at the domestic box office.
00:44Unfortunately, the Dial of Destiny came along during an oversaturation of nostalgic cinema and summer blockbusters.
00:51Fans couldn't excuse the movie's monumental budget, yet menial thrills.
00:55Even with a strong international gross, additional expenses amounted to a $100 million loss for Disney.
01:02It looks like Indy wasn't quite the treasure they were hunting for.
01:05Not me!
01:06Oh!
01:07Sorry!
01:08Number 19, Lightyear.
01:10To infinity?
01:11And beyond.
01:13Pixar's flagship Toy Story brand has been an otherworldly success for generations.
01:18Fans had astronomical hopes for Lightyear, the sci-fi blockbuster that supposedly inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure.
01:24It's hard to imagine a franchise being built on its box office.
01:27The domestic gross was under $120 million against a $200 million production budget.
01:32What?
01:33What are you gonna do?
01:34I'm gonna dance with Mr. Boom!
01:36The film did face early controversy for voice actor Tim Allen's absence and its LGBT representation.
01:42Though Disney's refusal to censor the latter is admirable, it cost the film's release in some countries.
01:47More importantly, though, audiences were disappointed by the convoluted plot and betrayal of Toy Story lore.
01:52With an $106 million final loss, Lightyear just couldn't reach the stars.
01:57You know, for the first time in a long time, I feel like I am home.
02:02Number 18, The Country Bears.
02:04You're the Country Bears.
02:06You know who we are?
02:08Sure!
02:09If Pirates of the Caribbean proved anything, it's that movies based on theme park attractions can work.
02:14A year before Disney struck gold with Jack Sparrow, though, they brought The Country Bear Jamboree to the big screen.
02:19The Country Bears is far from the most expensive film on the list, costing $35 million to make,
02:24yet even with a modest budget, it still couldn't turn a profit.
02:27Tear down Country Bear Hall?
02:29Yeah.
02:30Tear down Country Bear Hall?
02:33Uh...
02:37Yeah.
02:38Grossing roughly $18 million overall, The Country Bears proved too weird for kids,
02:43too juvenile for adults, and too dopey for modern audiences in general.
02:47To be fair, Christopher Walken's bizarre performance was beyond priceless, though.
02:51Since that day, I'm plotting my revenge.
02:55Waiting for the day I destroy the place that brought me misery well.
03:00That day is tonight!
03:04Number 17, Newsies.
03:09What's the matter?
03:10It's disgusting.
03:13In 1992, composer Alan Mankin took part in one of Disney's biggest hits ever, Aladdin.
03:18You ain't never had a friend like me.
03:21That same year, however, Mankin also contributed to one of Disney's lowest-grossing live-action movies ever, Newsies.
03:27A musical about the Newsboys' strike of 1899, Newsies made under $3 million on a $15 million budget.
03:34Despite being a failure upon initial release, the film would gain a dedicated following on home media.
03:39It inspired an acclaimed Broadway show, which resulted in Mankin and Jack Feldman taking home their first Tony Awards.
03:45The moral of the story?
03:46Just because something doesn't succeed at first, doesn't mean it'll never amount to anything.
03:50Pull a turn, horse!
03:51They think we're nothing!
03:53Are we nothing?
03:54No!
03:55Number 16, The New Mutants.
03:57Disney's acquisition of Fox in 2019 brought them the film rights for X-Men.
04:01However, it also meant taking on Fox's spin-off, The New Mutants,
04:05a horror-style origin story for super-teens in a hospital.
04:09Fox had made director Josh Boone tone down horror elements,
04:13then wanted extensive reshoots to add more horror after the success of 2017's It.
04:17Post-merger, Boone deemed the cast too old for reshoots.
04:21While the ten-pull project cost under $80 million, it only made $50 million worldwide.
04:26COVID-19 obviously hurt The New Mutants,
04:28but reviews of a disjointed final cut confirmed audiences' lack of confidence.
04:32After the box office debacle Dark Phoenix,
04:35what was supposed to be an insignificant spin-off, buried the franchise.
04:38Let's hope Disney's new New Mutants have better luck.
04:41That thing will kill you!
04:42He's right, it's magic!
04:47So am I.
04:49Number 15, A Wrinkle in Time.
04:51Call me Mrs. What's-It.
04:53Mrs. Who?
04:55No, Mrs. What's-It.
04:57With a star-studded cast and acclaimed director Ava DuVernay at the helm,
05:00there was every reason to be excited for this adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's classic science-fantasy novel.
05:06A Wrinkle in Time became the first live-action blockbuster directed by a black woman to gross over $100 million.
05:12You have no idea how incredible you are.
05:14Alas, it didn't get much further at the box office.
05:17With additional expenses, Disney lost roughly the same amount as the movie's huge initial budget.
05:22Their earlier TV adaptation was of course technically topped with its magical journey through space,
05:26but not even nostalgia could endear viewers to the superficial, sentimental writing.
05:30While DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time may be remembered for its cultural significance,
05:34Disney missed the science in making a big-budget epic for younger viewers.
05:38All those who are willing to face the darkness and bring the best of themselves to the light.
05:47Number 14, Mulan.
05:49Niki Caro's Mulan could have been as successful as any live-action remake of a Disney animated classic,
05:54but with the COVID-19 pandemic delaying its release, the studio tried an experiment.
05:59While Mulan went to theaters around the world, it was domestically released on Disney+, with an on-demand fee of $30.
06:05Disgrace. Disgrace for you, disgrace for your family, disgrace for your village.
06:11As steep as that price was for some subscribers, the streaming service eventually offered the title at no extra charge.
06:17Mixed reviews and controversy surrounding Leo Yifei's views on China-Hong Kong relations further limited its appeal.
06:23The $200 million epic ultimately grossed $70 million.
06:28While it was bigger on streaming, Disney still lost over $140 million.
06:32Times were tough for the Mulan remake, not to excuse its quality or distribution strategy.
06:37No. It's too late for me.
06:44Number 13, Around the World in 80 Days.
06:47That would mean that you were a real scientist!
06:52It's hard to compete with the Oscar-winning 1956 adaptation of Jules Verne's seminal adventure novel.
06:57Disney's Buena Vista Pictures brought Around the World in 80 Days into the 21st century in all the wrong ways.
07:03The massive production couldn't make up for the anachronistic humor and many liberties with the source material.
07:09Between fans of Verne's classic and those unfamiliar with it, the movie grossed just over $70 million against an $110 million budget.
07:17It was one of the priciest flops in Hollywood history.
07:20Jackie Chan alone cost over $18 million.
07:22Around the World doesn't even have much of a cult following with its reviews.
07:26Passport 2 could have told Disney that technical innovation means nothing in a poorly navigated project.
07:31I'm not going to lie to you. That's going to happen about half the time.
07:35Number 12, Jungle Cruise.
07:37A classic Disney park ride's big-budget movie spent 17 years in development.
07:42It's a shame that Jungle Cruise was completed in time for the COVID-19 pandemic.
07:46As with other major movies at the time, it was simultaneously released in theaters and on Disney Plus Premier Access with a $30 premium fee.
07:53Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's $200 million treasure hunt may have been particularly worthy of the big screen.
08:03But $221 million in receipts wasn't enough after additional expenses.
08:07The $66 million gross on streaming only put a dent in box office losses.
08:13One of Johnson's all-time biggest bombs, while anticipated, was devastating.
08:17Personally, I find that very hard to swallow.
08:21A Jungle Cruise sequel is still in development, but Disney can't afford for it to be too adventurous.
08:26Number 11, Treasure Planet.
08:28This early 2000s animated feature crashed and burned, making $109.6 million on a $140 million budget.
08:36Unlike Home on the Range, though, the science-fiction adventure actually had critical praise and an Oscar nomination on its side.
08:42So why did the film leave such a small impression at the box office?
08:55Maybe the idea of Treasure Island in outer space was too out there for mainstream audiences.
09:00The fact that it had to compete with Harry Potter probably didn't help either.
09:03In any case, Treasure Planet was sunk, ultimately losing an estimated $85 million.
09:12Number 10, Tomorrowland.
09:14On paper, Tomorrowland seemed like a surefire success.
09:17George Clooney is one of the most charming actors in the business, and director Brad Bird has made one classic after another.
09:27Despite all the talent involved, however, this futuristic mystery just didn't entice audiences.
09:32What's worse, Disney spent an estimated $330 million on the film's production and marketing campaign.
09:38On a visual level, you can certainly see where most of that money went.
09:45In terms of storytelling, though, many felt the film failed to take flight.
09:48By the end of its box office run, Tomorrowland brought in just over $200 million, losing the studio somewhere between $120 million and $140 million.
09:58Ouch.
10:03Number 9, The Alamo.
10:07Not even John Wayne's recreation of the Battle of the Alamo could rise above financial and critical disappointment in 1960.
10:13History more than repeated itself when Buena Vista Pictures released its own all-star dramatization.
10:19Against an obviously massive budget, John Lee Hancock's The Alamo grossed just over $25 million worldwide.
10:26As financially rough as 2004 was for Disney, this marked one of the biggest box office bombs of all time.
10:32You have to understand the historical context of a difficult production, a spring release, and post-9-11 propaganda fatigue.
10:38Of course, the dull and excessive movie's lack of appeal is evident.
10:42Besides its great defeat at the box office, there's little cause to remember Disney's The Alamo.
10:47For tomorrow, gentlemen! For today! Remember The Alamo!
10:54Number 8, Turning Red.
10:56This isn't happening! This isn't happening!
10:58One of Disney's most genuinely unjust flops was the Pixar-produced Turning Red.
11:02The coming-of-age fantasy won rave reviews, especially for its cultural representation and honesty about puberty.
11:08You are a woman now, and your body is starting to change.
11:14Certainly, such content in a children's movie sparked controversy.
11:17But with COVID-19, Disney's real error was domestically debuting the big-budget movie on Disney+, without a premium fee.
11:24The international theatrical release raked in just over $21 million.
11:28Disney sacrificed a blockbuster hit, but surely didn't foresee a roughly $170 million loss.
11:34This prompted a theatrical re-release in 2024, which didn't really help.
11:38Turning Red had already been widely seen, and is poised to become a classic.
11:42It's going to be fine. I overcame it, and you will too.
11:46Number 7, The Thirteenth Warrior.
11:48There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.
12:02Touchstone Pictures went exceptionally big in adapting Michael Crichton's fictional account of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan's Nordic travels.
12:09Some reports suggest that with marketing, The Thirteenth Warrior cost up to $160 million.
12:14After disastrous test screenings, the film was delayed and recut.
12:18But upon release, reviews were still lackluster.
12:21You appear none the worse for wear.
12:23The film ended up grossing just over $60 million, costing Disney twice that amount.
12:28But there's no cave.
12:31Yes, there is.
12:34It was such a bomb that legendary actor Omar Sharif temporarily retired.
12:38Though Disney has since lost bigger, the otherwise forgettable The Thirteenth Warrior is now mostly recognized as one of the biggest flops of its era.
12:52Number 6, The Lone Ranger.
12:54Disney had high hopes that The Lone Ranger would be their next Pirates of the Caribbean.
12:58Heck, they even enlisted the same director and star behind that blockbuster franchise.
13:02Unfortunately for the studio, this western was a bomb of epic proportions.
13:08How could this be worse?
13:10You wouldn't think that Disney would throw too much money at a movie based on an old-school radio show.
13:14For some reason, though, they decided to spend $225 million on production costs, as well as $150 million on marketing.
13:23In that case, not so good.
13:24Grossing $260.5 million overall, The Lone Ranger alienated audiences with its relentless runtime, muddled plot, and the controversial casting of Johnny Depp as Native American Tonto.
13:36You have been to the other side. Spirit Walker cannot be killed.
13:40Number 5, The Black Cauldron.
13:42I'm not afraid of the Horned King.
13:44Then you are a very foolish lad.
13:46Following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the animation studio entered one of its darkest eras financially.
13:52But this fantasy adventure was Disney's biggest box office letdown yet.
13:56At the time of its release, The Black Cauldron was the most expensive animated feature ever, with a price tag of $44 million.
14:03The film didn't even make back half of its substantial budget, accumulating a total of $21.3 million.
14:10As if that's not bad enough, it actually made less money than The Care Bears movie, which came out that same year.
14:16Although it has a somewhat infamous reputation, The Black Cauldron has also achieved a cult following in recent years, so perhaps audiences missed out back in the 80s.
14:24Does anyone know The Black Cauldron is indestructible?
14:28Number 4, Haunted Mansion.
14:30This place is haunted!
14:33Despite negative reviews, The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy was a commercial and cult hit.
14:3720 years later, a second adaptation of the Disney theme park ride was dead on arrival.
14:42Justin Simien's Haunted Mansion had to compete with an acting strike and the Barbenheimer theatrical event.
14:48This true bomb fell way short of its $150 million budget, becoming the lowest grossing major release in a year that cost Disney roughly $1 billion.
14:57It didn't help that the convoluted ghost story didn't give critics thrills, and audiences didn't know what to make of the too silly horror and too dark comedy.
15:04Enough, that's it.
15:062023's Haunted Mansion probably won't haunt a wide fanbase, but it's practically a curse on Disney.
15:11Number 3, Strange World.
15:13This place is amazing!
15:15It was a strange time for the sci-fi adventure Strange World.
15:18COVID-19 left audiences expecting it would soon land on Disney+, if they even knew about it.
15:24Against polarized reviews, Disney released the movie during a crowded slate and with limited advertising.
15:29The studio also had to pull release in countries that objected to the gay protagonist.
15:33These factors and more resulted in a meager gross of just over $70 million worldwide.
15:39Disney must have seriously invested in marketing after all, as the release lost nearly $200 million.
15:44One of the biggest flops ever in Disney animation has since been subject to great debate.
15:49Of course, one should consider Strange World's popularity when it came to Disney+, exactly one month into its theatrical run.
15:55Alright, next stop, no power, cold coffee, and angry masses.
15:59Who's ready to go home?
16:01Number 2, Mars Needs Moms.
16:03Whoa! I'm in a spaceship!
16:07People are generally divided when it comes to motion capture animated films.
16:11Some find them visually stunning, while others find them creepy.
16:14Either way, we can all agree that the style feels out of place in a wacky space comedy like Mars Needs Moms.
16:20Audiences could immediately sense that this movie was going to blow, leading to a dismal opening weekend.
16:25It didn't do much better in the weeks to come, ultimately making $39 million on a massive budget of $150 million.
16:33Reaching an all-time low, the film stands out as the Disney brand's biggest financial dud to date.
16:38Ooh, did you just call me an idiot?
16:40It also motivated Disney to close down Image Movers Digital, a joint venture they'd established back in 2007 with a film studio known as Image Movers.
16:48Is this gonna work?
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17:07Number 1. John Carter
17:18Over the years, Disney has taken countless risks that have paid off.
17:22Alas, for every film that succeeds against all odds, there's a gamble that simply wasn't worth taking.
17:27John Carter is one of the most notorious examples of the latter in the company's history.
17:37On the whole, Disney spent $350 million producing and advertising this adaptation of A Princess of Mars.
17:44However, all the money in the world couldn't save John Carter.
17:48From generic characters, a clunky story, and a severe lack of originality,
17:52the film not only amounted to a $200 million write-down, but also caused Rich Ross to resign as head of the studio.
18:02Which Disney bombs hit you the hardest?
18:04Do any deserve more attention? Let us know in the comments.
18:07Be a warrior. Can you?
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