Disney's Haunted Mansion Delivers Disappointing Opening Weekend

Disney's new take on the Haunted Mansion is off to a difficult start at the box office. The film debuted in theaters this weekend and faced an uphill battle, going up against the second weekend of record-breaking box office behemoths Barbie and Oppenheimer. With those two movies still commanding all of the big screen attention, Justin Simien's Haunted Mansion is having trouble getting any attention, opening below its already soft expectations.

Heading into the weekend, Haunted Mansion was eyeing an opening between $25 million and $30 million. Sunday's updated estimates, according to Variety, indicate that the new Disney live-action film won't even reach the lower end of that range. Haunted Mansion is currently looking at an opening weekend total of $24.6 million in North America, alongside just $9.1 million internationally.

With just around $33 million globally after one weekend, Haunted Mansion is going to struggle to make back its reported $150 million budget over the course of its theatrical run. There are a lot of factors playing into the muted debut for Haunted Mansion, with Barbie and Oppenheimer's success front and center, but the timing of the release is certainly a head-scratching move. Haunted Mansion is the type of movie that feels much more suited to a fall release, timing its debut closer to Halloween season and not in the middle of a summer blockbuster run. Not only would the theaters be less crowded with other films, but the season itself would make more sense for the movie's content.

Haunted Mansion Sequel Potential

Haunted Mansion's struggles out of the gate don't bode well for a potential second movie, but things could change after this weekend. Elemental recovered from a rough opening to become a surprising box office hit for Pixar, and there's no reason Haunted Mansion couldn't do the same. It could also find big success with home sales or on Disney+. There are paths forward for the potential franchise beyond the box office. 

Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien told ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis that there are absolutely ways a sequel can work, and that the film itself leaves the door open for the possibilities. 

"It definitely leaves a door open for more and for other spaces where, you know, ghosts might materialize," Simien explained.

Haunted Mansion Cast

LaKeith Stanfield leads and all-star Haunted Mansion cast that also includes Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, Hasan Minhaj, and Dan Levy amongst others. Simien directed the film from a script written by Kate Dippold.

Did you see Haunted Mansion in theaters? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!