As if releasing an all-ages supernatural blockbuster at the height of summer wasn’t enough of a strange call – one that was publicly called out by many as one of the reasons behind its disastrous box office performance – Haunted Mansion was also knee-capped by landing in the immediate aftermath of the Barbenheimer phenomenon.
That’s not to say Justin Simien’s reboot was guaranteed to fare better had it released closer to Halloween, but it also can’t be ignored that it’s been reigning as one of the most-watched titles available on all of streaming since making its on-demand debut in October, which is realistically when it should have landed on the big screen.
The filmmaker has maintained a brave face and dignified perspective throughout the spooky spectacular’s money-losing run in multiplexes, but even he was forced to acknowledge to IndieWire that the double-whammy of Barbenheimer and a family-friendly horror releasing in the height of summer wasn’t the greatest call on Disney’s part.
“I think the release date was really tough — I saw Barbie coming from miles away. I was disappointed by some aspects of our release, but I was not really surprised. There’s a lot of folks in the industry that just kept saying, ‘I don’t know’ and ‘That’ll probably not be as big as it sounds like.’ And I was like, ‘[Barbie] is going to be huge.’ What Oppenheimer did so well — the marketing for Oppenheimer embraced the fact that Barbie was coming with this gigantic, cultural juggernaut. I don’t know that our campaign necessarily embraced or acknowledged that we were essentially coming out in the shadow of what was clearly such a box office phenomenon. I certainly have heard the feeling from a lot of folks, and I can’t say I disagree. This is a much better time [in October] to receive a movie like this.”
Haunted Mansion could go on to become a staple of the viewing calendar for audiences every Halloween, but whether or not it wouldn’t have sank so fast so quickly if Disney had held off for just a few months will forever remain an intriguing “what if” scenario.