Disney might need Loki’s Miss Minutes to set up its release calendar as it has released its sub-par but high-budget reboot Haunted Mansion while Barbie and Oppenheimer are ruling the box office. But apparently, Disney doesn’t have to be worried about losing to the big shots as its inconsequential reboot of the panned 2003 film is getting nicely upstaged by a small-scale indie horror wonder with a mini-budget of $4.5M and coming from YouTubers-turned-first-time-directors.
Released on July 28, Haunted Mansion opened its business at the box office with a lukewarm $9.9 million and is expected to end the weekend with a worrying estimate of $25 million against its hefty $157 million budget. The massively negative reviews leveled at the film confirm that the unnecessary reboot of an already unpopular film would have still underperformed even if Barbenheimer hasn’t been present to eat away prospective audience numbers.
But chances of Haunted Mansion attracting some horror fans have also taken a steep nosedive with the release of A24’s Australian horror film, Talk to Me, which has already earned back almost all of its production budget on release day (July 28) with $4.2 million and is expected to earn $10 million during the weekend.
Praised for its powerful performances and gripping storyline, Talk to Me , directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, is destined to be a box office hit and if it exceeds its projected weekend haul, it will be an expected outcome given its glowing 95% Rotten Tomatoes score with 182 critic reviews.
Guess a skin-crawling story of a sinister embalmed hand unleashing evil forces trumps the Mouse’s attempt at breathing life into an adaptation that already failed to impress 20 years ago with Eddie Murphy headlining the show.