2023 marked Disney’s 100th anniversary of making movie magic. It also marked a disastrous year for Disney at the box office.
Out of eight major theatrical releases from Disney this year, six of them significantly underperformed with audiences not just in the U.S. but overseas as well.
We saw all of these movies in the theater.
Let’s review the flops and successes:
Flop #1: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
One of the most popular film franchises in the 21st century has been the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ever since 2008’s “Iron Man,” Disney’s catalog of superheroes and the stars that play them drove tens of millions of Americans into theaters. That wasn’t the case with two out of the three Marvel flicks released in 2023.
The first Disney flop was in February 2023 with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Despite an all-star cast including Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer and Bill Murray, the $200 million-priced film earned only $215 million domestically and $476 million worldwide, far short of the $600 million it needed to break even on its theatrical run, according to Variety. That’s less than the $519 million worldwide earnings from the first “Ant-Man”.
Flop #2: The Little Mermaid
Moviegoers showed signs of being tired of recycled Disney classics material. Disney had a lot riding on its live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” starring Halle Bailey released in May. It earned a respectable $297 million domestically but greatly fell below expectations internationally, earning just $267 million overseas. The film had a $250 million budget. Compare that to the 2019 live-action release of “The Lion King,” which grossed a whopping $1.6 billion worldwide, more than a billion of that came from overseas.
Hit #1: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3
Disney’s only sweet spot in all of 2023 was the May release of “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3,” starring Chris Pratt, which earned a sizable $359 million domestically and a strong $845 million worldwide, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2023 and definitely recouping its budget cost of $250 million.
Hit #2: Elemental
In June, Pixar’s $200 million-priced “Elemental” reached $154 million domestically and was shy of reaching $500 million worldwide. That pales in comparison to the 2015 release of “Inside Out,” which made $357 million domestically and nearly $860 million worldwide with a $175 million budget.
Disney disputed the idea that “Elemental” was a flop, putting out a statement on August 7th, saying, “The film directed by Peter Sohn crossed the $400 million mark at the global box office last week. Of that total, it’s made $148 million domestically. That’s about five times its domestic opening weekend haul, which is a rare accomplishment in a theatrical world that sees most moviegoers buy a ticket the opening weekend. When it arrived on Disney+, it set a record for most streams.
We loved this movie. We rate this Not a Flop.
Flop #3: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
In June, Disney released “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” starring 81-year-old Harrison Ford. It grossed just $174 million domestically and less than $400 million worldwide, making it impossible for the studio to recoup its budget of nearly $300 million which doesn’t include the marketing costs. Meanwhile, 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which is widely considered the worst Indiana Jones film of the franchise, made over $300 million domestically and nearly $800 million worldwide with a $185 million budget.
Flop #4: Haunted Mansion
Disney closed out the summer with the August release its reboot of “Haunted Mansion” making a dismal $68 million domestically and $117 million worldwide. The $150 million remake starred Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. Disney’s 2003 predecessor starring Eddie Murphy, which was also considered a major disappointment, still grossed $182 million worldwide with a $90 million budget.
Flop #5: The Marvels
Disney’s released “The Marvels” in November. Its 2019 predecessor “Captain Marvel” starring Brie Larson opened domestically north of $153 million and went on to earn $427 million and a whopping $1.1 billion worldwide. “The Marvels,” however, opened to just $46 million and may not even reach $100 million domestically (its total gross so far is less than $90 million domestically and roughly $200 million worldwide), making it the lowest-grossing Marvel film in the entire franchise, and definitely putting it in box office disaster territory, given its reported $274 million budget.
Flop #6: Wish
Wish was released at Thanksgiving, which Disney billed as a film “a century in the making” to commemorate the studio’s 100th anniversary. Sadly for Disney, it was only wishful thinking as “Wish” has only grossed roughly $50 million domestically and just over $125 million worldwide, likely to face major losses from its reported $200 million budget. Compare that to Disney’s pre-Thanksgiving release of “Encanto” in 2021, which made over $250 million worldwide amid the box office recovery from COVID.
How many of the 2023 Disney movies did you see in the theater this year???
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We’ve written two books about our time working – and playing – as Disney Cast Members at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Both are available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle: Two Girls and a Mouse Tale and Adventures in the Animal Kingdom.
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Have a magical day!
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