4. Ghastly reviews

Given its all-star cast and its award-winning creative team, Disney definitely didn't expect that its new Haunted Mansion would fare only slightly better than the first critically. But with a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, the 2023 film is decidedly deemed "rotten." As with the Eddie Murphy take, reviewers suggest that this film can't seem to find the balance between "frights" and "fun" that the ride so masterfully employs, and that as a result, it isn't very scary or comedic. Critics call the story "laborious" with "surprisingly weak" special effects. Worse, Haunted Mansion may suffer from the Stitch's Great Escape conundrum; as a Washington Post reporter noted, "it's too dark for a family film, but too weightless and juvenile for grown-ups"

Then there's the finances... Eddie Murphy's Haunted Mansion earned "only" $180 million, but against a $90 million budget. That at least helped it break even or recoup some of its costs.

Unfortunately, 2023's Haunted Mansion cost a lot more ($150 million) and as of its third week, has earned a whole lot less – just about $40 million. Given that middling reviews and major competition (from Barbie and Oppenheimer) make it unlikely that Mansion will have long legs at the box office, that'll make the new film a significant loss for the studio. Worse, it appears Haunted Mansion will be another disappointing write-off in a year that's seen Disney fail to capture the kind of box office success it's enjoyed for the last decade (with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Strange World, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Elemental all underperforming... yikes.)

Some have suggested that Disney's Haunted Mansion shot itself in the foot by releasing in July rather than the cooler, spookier late September or early October when a chilling, ghostly family comedy might've been more attuned to the season. But obviously, that ship has sailed, and releasing in a crowded summer turned out in hindsight to be a not-so-brilliant plan. Even if Haunted Mansion had been well-received, could it have broken through in a busy blockbuster season? We'll never know... 

Reception among Disney Parks fans has been an interesting mix. While some appreciate the ride's imagery, characterization, and exploration of "Mansion" lore, others find it a disappointing second desecration of the beloved ride. (Let us know in the comments where you, as a theme park fan, stand.) Ultimately, the worst thing you can say about Haunted Mansion is probably what The Washington Post's Lucas Trevor said: that ultimately, it's "inconsequential."

Well... Parks fans are hoping so, because as before, images of Danny DeVito animatronics and Madame Leota re-recordings (this time by Jamie Lee Curtis) loom large... But could the new film be changing Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion already? Fans believe that the placement of the new Hatbox Ghost at Magic Kingdom (in a space that totally ignores the "rules" of the ride's designers) might, with some roundabout logic, be "justified" by an element of lore present only in the Haunted Mansion movie... It's an odd choice since this film does indeed seem to be "inconsequential" and will almost certainly be forgotten in a year or two, while the Hatbox Ghost's placement will no doubt remain for decades...

5. Your review... 

For twenty years, Disney has been in search of "the next Pirates of the Caribbean"; that is, the next billion dollar IP that can be translated from park to screen. At least in this iteration, Haunted Mansion isn't it. Despite better reviews than the 2003 Eddie Murphy vehicle, the new ensemble horror-comedy-mystery has certainly not landed the way Disney hoped. 

But the question remains: what do Disney Parks' most die-hard fans think about 2023's Haunted Mansion? The people who love the Mansion's history; who know how it came about? The mega-fans who've read the incredible "Boundless Realms" history of the ride? People who know every corner of the mansion. In other words, you. Do you like the new Haunted Mansion movie? Or did Disney again fail to find the right tone and plot for turning its spooky, atmospheric dark ride into a 90-minute film? Tell us in the comments below!