Haunted Mansion made Disney just over $120 million as it finally has exited the theater scene. The problem? It cost the company around $150 million to make and when you factor in stuff like advertising and promotion, that number climbs higher.
Now, the film is heading to streaming where it will most certainly get a big look from the non-theater going members of Disney movie fans. That being said, don't expect a huge Elemental type reception. Mansion simply isn't that good of a film.
Elemental wasn't critically received early in its run at the cinema but movie goers embraced the story and when it premiered earlier this month on Disney+ it broke streaming records.
Mansion doesn't have the same style or emotional pull as Elemental. While a family feature, it lacks the quality of a film that will also draw in younger children who won't find the ghastly story or visuals interesting, something Elemental was able to achieve.
What dropped Haunted Mansion faster than the Hollywood Tower of Terror? For starters, the film based off a ride simply lacked the star power to bring in a wider audience.
LaKeith Stanfield wasn't able to carry the film himself and the addition of his co-stars, Tiffany Haddish and Owen Wilson who provides a comedy element couldn't pull it all off leaving empty theaters across the states.
While it was initially met with decent reviews, the reality was it didn't have the legs or the word of mouth to be anything more than average and that too will carry over to the streaming viewers as well.
Initial numbers on October 4th, when it premiers, will be high but I would be interested to see if those numbers hold up after a week or a few days. My guess? They won't.