As the leading film studio in Hollywood, Disney has certainly faced its share of failures throughout its journey. Below are 10 projects that have caused “Disney” to lose the most revenue to date.
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas
This Christmas project, highly regarded like A Christmas Carol, resulted in a loss of $100 million for Disney. One reason cited for this was the film’s “dark” content, which did not appeal to the holiday audience.
9. The Good Dinosaur
The latest addition to Disney’s “failure” lineup is The Good Dinosaur. Without a significant marketing campaign, the film struggled to attract viewers, leading to a storyline and visual presentation that fell flat. Additionally, this loss of $147 million also resulted in Disney choosing not to release films in several major international markets.
8. Mulan
The live-action adaptation of Disney’s princess film Mulan faced considerable backlash from casting choices and changes made to the original story. The prominent performance of Liu Yifei did not save the film from losing $150 million.
7. Jungle Cruise
Taking inspiration from the Disneyland attraction, Jungle Cruise featured many successful elements, including the star power of Dwayne Johnson. However, upon release, the film did not attract a large audience and led to a loss of $151 million for Disney.
6. Strange World
This animated project about a family of explorers faced significant criticism and ultimately flopped at the box office, resulting in a loss of $167 million despite receiving critical acclaim.
5. Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland was meant to create a new franchise similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, but it did not succeed. Developed from theme park attractions, the project also featured George Clooney but ended up losing $170 million due to poor audience reception.
4. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Not only is The Nutcracker and the Four Realms one of the most poorly rated animated projects, but it also received the lowest ratings across Disney’s “treasure trove.” Changes to the character designs and storyline did not improve the film’s reception, resulting in a loss of $200 million.
3. Mars Needs Moms
Disney invested heavily in motion capture technology for Mars Needs Moms, but the film did not connect with audiences. Despite praise for its animation and voice acting, the dull storyline led to a loss of $210 million.
2. The Lone Ranger
Featuring A-list star Johnny Depp, The Lone Ranger failed to connect with audiences. Alongside a lackluster plot, the production costs and marketing budget were too high, resulting in a loss of $220-230 million for the project, which even received Oscar nominations for Makeup and Visual Effects.
1. John Carter
In 2012, John Carter was Disney’s attempt to launch a series of action-adventure films, drawing parallels with The Mummy. However, upon release, John Carter failed to meet expectations, resulting in a loss of $240 million. This remains Disney’s biggest box office flop and left leading actor Taylor Kitsch’s career in a precarious position.
Image: Disney
