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Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION Bombs at Box Office Due to Occult Themes
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION is the latest example of the entertainment giant’s inability to capture audiences, opening to a mere $24.2 million.
The $24.4 million mark one of the lowest starts among Disney’s live-action remakes or reimaginings of theme park attractions. HAUNTED MANSION performed worse than experts expected, predicting it would at least top $30 million during its opening weekend.
The movie struggled to draw in a family audience due to its emphasis on occultism and unbiblical views on the supernatural. 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. 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 takes a Christian, biblical approach to the supernatural, like the movie NEFARIOUS.
The ongoing actors’ strike also hurt the movie’s launch. The star-studded cast—Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto—could not promote the movie or attend the July 15 Disneyland premiere.
HAUNTED MANSION is yet another flop among Disney’s string of theatrical failures. Coming into the summer, Disney had already lost an estimated $900 million. HAUNTED MANSION and the company’s other summer release ELEMENTAL have only added to the losses.
ELEMENTAL cost $200 million to produce before marketing and only grossed $145 million at the box office. HAUNTED MANSION cost $150 million before marketing.
HAUNTED MANSION demonstrates how rejecting family-friendly values in movies will cost studios financially. To recover, Disney needs to change their strategy, especially as its public perception drops due to its response to the WGA and SAG strikes.
Disney needs to return to creating family-friendly movies that promote strong Christian and moral values rather than continuing down the losing path it is currently on.
Movieguide® previously reported:
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.
The movie-making leg of the company has fared no better, losing an estimated $900 million from its last eight studio releases. The box-office failures are largely due to the immoral themes that these movies have promoted.
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 to be too high for families – even at the height of vacation season.
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