Ouch Disney! Here are the Five Biggest Movie Flops of 2023

Despite the popularity of watching new content on streaming services, I still prefer viewing new movies in theaters. It's a place where folks from all walks of life can gather to enjoy movies, laugh, and even cry. In 2015, when I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there was a lot of that, but not near as much as when I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. I remember vividly the young women in front of me in a full display of tears after Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man caught M.J.

There is nothing like a movie theater experience. Ever since I was a kid, I can remember going to the theater and enjoying every second of movie magic on the big screen. As an adult, I enjoy the trips just as much, even with snack prices maxing out my credit cards. In 2023, I was busy with work, college, and everything in between, so sadly, I didn't make it to a lot of the films I wanted to see. However, it looks like this may not have been such a bad thing after all, as there were quite a few big-budget movies that ended up losing a significant amount of money. Here are the biggest movie flops of 2023:

Haunted Mansion

I honestly don't even remember watching the trailer for this film. Disney's Haunted Mansion was a loose remake of Eddie Murphy's 2003 movie with the same title. The new version was supposed to be a tad scarier, and even bumped the PG rating up to PG-13. According to new data from Statista, the film lost about $117 million worldwide. That said, it did receive an audience score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Wish

As I don't have kids, this film also wasn't on my radar. Despite an audience rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie ended up losing Walt Disney Studios about $131 million. Here is the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Wish" is an all-new musical-comedy welcoming audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force--a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe--the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico--to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

I have only seen the first three Indiana Jones movies, and this was the fifth in the franchise. Everyone I know who saw the film said it was terrible, but I'm still interested in taking a look for myself. The part of the movie that fans most anticipated after the big trailer drop was a flashback scene featuring a de-aged Harrison Ford. However, that wasn't enough to get fans into theater seats, as Statista reports the film lost an estimated $143 million. The movie received an audience score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Flash

Despite losing a boatload of money, I actually really enjoyed The Flash. Seeing Michael Keaton return as the Caped Crusader was incredible, along with the other Batman cameo at the end of the movie. Overall, I enjoyed the plot, but I did feel it fell flat at the end. This film generated an audience score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes but lost Warner Brothers an estimated $155 million. The loss could be attributed to the controversies surrounding leading actor Ezra Miller, but many people I talked to said they simply thought the story was weak and CGI mediocre.

The Marvels

While 2023 was the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Studios, it seemed that didn't matter much when it came to box office numbers. As you've probably noticed, four out of the five biggest movie flops in 2023 were produced by Disney, including the one that lost the studio the most money: The Marvels. According to Statista, the film had a total budget of $455 million but didn't make anywhere near that at the box office, with a net loss of $237 million. The Marvels received an audience score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Overall, Disney lost about $628 million last year with just these four films, but the tide could shift in 2024. Personally, I'm really looking forward to Deadpool & Wolverine, which will be the first Deadpool movie released since Dinsey acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. The film is set to hit theaters on July 26, and I have a feeling it will be a fairly large box office hit. Will it make up for last year? Probably not, but it's a start.