Disney is known for having relatively successful films. With 22 Oscar wins out of 59 nominations, they are in good standing for good films. But with success comes failure, which Disney does not want to hear. Both animated and live-action films have not had the mercy of avoiding harsh reviews. With bad critic scores, fans still hold to their love of Disney and enjoy these flops – well, most of them.
Fantasia (1940)
A film that Walt Disney himself was excited to release for its innovative and unique experience did not do too well in popularity. A mix of animation and classical music, this experimental film gave us one of the most famous versions of Mickey Mouse: Sorcerer Mickey. For a film with a budget of $2 million, it made $77 million at the box office. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 95% rating, all pointing to a successful film. It appears that way on paper, but audiences seemed bored and confused about the concept. Although it wasn’t appreciated back then, fans still hold Sorcerer Mickey to a high level. He even appears in the Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios’ nighttime show: Fantasmic. However, Disney didn’t give up on Fantasia’s hope and released a sequel 70 years later with Fantasia 2000. With newer animation and new songs, Steve Martin hosts Mickey and guest stars James Earl Jones, Bette Midler, and Angela Lansbury. This time the orchestra is involved, and the audience feels more connected to the experience than at a classical concert.
Treasure Planet (2002)
One of Disney’s most action-packed animated features is hardly recognized today. Treasure Planet follows Jim Hawkins (a juvenile boy on the verge of getting arrested) and his friends as they look for a hidden world that has the “loot from a thousand worlds.” With pirates and betrayal, this film is jam-packed with nonstop action and a heartwarming story. The budget for this film was $140 million, but the box office gods were not impressed, as it only made $110 million. There were talks of a sequel happening, but those plans were scrapped when the numbers returned. The movie flopped despite a widely popular cast (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Martin Short, Brian Murray, Emma Thompson, and Michael Wincott). Rotten Tomatoes rated it 69%, but true Disney fans have not forgotten about this genuine classic. Those same fans wish that Disney, in their stage of remakes, would make a live-action remake of this film. Released in IMAX and Dolby, it definitely would have a chance of making the comeback it deserves.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Probably the most well-known Disney flop, The Black Cauldron is considered one if not the darkest animated films Disney has produced. To IMDB, “A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.” Even though this was the first PG film for Disney and used CGI for the first time, this film almost “killed” Disney animation. With a budget of $44 million, it only got $21 million at the box office. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 55%. Ironically, this film is more known for being a flop than anything else regarding the film. Truthfully I had to look up what the film was about since I’d only seen it once. Not many people know about the movie, let alone what it’s about.
John Carter (2012)
John Carter was hoped to be a successful series based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories. However, the film did not hit the mark with fans, and the planned trilogy fell through. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 52%. One of the more expensive films ever made, with a $350 million budget, ended up losing Disney an estimated $200 million.
Tomorrowland (2015)
Inspired by the park inside Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, this George Clooney film did not grab people’s attention like its namesake. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 50%. Another costly film with a $280 million budget, but only making $209 million at the box office, left Disney out almost $70 million.
Prince of Persia (2010)
Although this Jake Gyllenhaal film made $336 million at the box office on a $150-200 million budget, audience members were not amused by the casting for the film. Disney was heavily criticized for not casting the roles with the correct ethnicity to characters. More so, video game fans were not pleased when the film changed the narrative and did not follow along with the game. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 37%
Eternals (2021)
Even though this Marvel film made a little over $400 million at the box office, fans were displeased by the storyline and were bored throughout the film. Fans don’t think Marvel is doing too well after Avengers: Endgame premiered. Eternals is the lowest-rated Marvel film, at 47% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.3/10 on IMDB.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Following incredibly close behind Eternals, Ant-Man 3 made a little over $465 million, but fans were displeased and not captivated by this third installment. Although both this film and Eternals set up phase 5, fans question whether Marvel is pumping out films too fast and not putting in considerable time and effort like past phases had. Rotten Tomatoes rates this film the same as Eternals with 47%, but IMDB rates it 6.4/10, making it not the lowest-rated Marvel film.
These are just some of the many failures that Disney has endured throughout the years. The list will only grow now that Disney has acquired many more franchises. There’s a lot of pressure on Star Wars and Marvel specifically, and ratings-wise, those films are not doing too hot. Will Disney take a step back and reevaluate their production rates? And will they learn from the past or keep making the same mistakes?
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