Haunted Mansion extends Disney’s box office cold streak
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THE Walt Disney Co’s Haunted Mansion took in about US$24 million at the weekend box office, a comatose result for a movie that cost at least US$200 million to make and market.
The comedic horror movie received poor reviews. Competition was also fierce: Barbie (Warner Bros) collected an astounding US$93 million in its second weekend, easily claiming first place, while Oppenheimer (Universal) racked up about US$46.2 million.
Barbie has now collected more than US$750 million worldwide, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. Oppenheimer has delivered roughly US$400 million in global ticket sales.
But Haunted Mansion also had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first big-budget movie to get sideswiped by the Hollywood actors strike, which is now in its third week. Until the strike is resolved, the actors union has barred its members from engaging in any publicity efforts for completed films and TV shows.
Promotional campaigns for Barbie and Oppenheimer were largely complete by the time the actors walked out on July 13. In contrast, the buzz machine for Haunted Mansion had been scheduled to start on July 15, with stars from the movie – Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Jared Leto – giving interviews and walking a red carpet at the premiere. Such events can generate tens of millions of mentions on social media.
A dozen appearances by Haunted Mansion cast members on TV shows such as Good Morning America had to be cancelled. Planned promotional appearances in London, Toronto, Atlanta, Miami and San Diego were also called off, leaving the movie’s director, Justin Simien (Dear White People), to proselytise alone. But many of the resulting headlines were about the strike and not the movie.
“Not having the cast available definitely had an impact, especially with Barbie and Oppenheimer attracting so much attention – they’re just behemoths,” Tony Chambers, Disney’s executive vice- president of theatrical distribution, said on Sunday (Jul 30).
Ticket buyers had a positive reaction to the Haunted Mansion (85 per cent positive, as recorded by Rotten Tomatoes), Chambers noted, adding that the film could still find its footing. Few family films are scheduled for release during the remainder of the summer school holiday. “We’ve got a relatively clear runway for the next four weeks,” he said. NYTIMES
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