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Despite its almost absolute dominance in entertainment, Walt Disney Studios isn’t immune from the occasional flop. Regardless of their quality and because of outside circumstances, some Disney movies were doomed at the box office. Bombs like Atlantis: The Lost Empire or Treasure Planet found second wind later, while others faded into obscurity.
In some stranger cases, these Disney bombs’ financial failures were seemingly erased from history. This was possible thanks to universally positive reassessments and fans’ reclamation. At best, this gave a flop its due decades after its initial failure. At worst, this led to fans and Disney capitalizing on non-existent popular demand.
10/10 Encanto Only Earned $107 Million
Budget: $150 Million | Box Office: $257 Million
Encanto was considered to be one of Pixar’s most refreshing movies in years. Besides its emotionally resonant story, Encanto was praised for its genuine focus on Colombian people, history, and culture. But unlike the high-profile failure of the equally progressive and critically hailed Turning Red, Encanto’s financial failure tends to be overlooked.
Encanto needed at least $300 million to break even. Unfortunately, Encanto hit cinemas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Encanto earned $96 million domestically and $161 million internationally before landing on Disney+. Encanto (especially its soundtrack) was such a phenomenon that its failures were willingly ignored.
9/10 The Emperor’s New Groove Only Earned $70 Million
Budget: $100 Million | Box Office: $170 Million
The Emperor’s New Groove is one of the most beloved and quoted Disney movies online. Because of its enduring popularity and memes, the movie may not look like one of Disney’s costliest flops. However, not only was The Emperor’s New Groove one of Disney’s weakest openings after the ’90s, but it was essentially remade during production.
The Emperor’s New Groove‘s budget ballooned to $100 million after producers demanded that the straightforward musical drama be remade into a comedy following negative test screenings. The Emperor’s New Groove only earned $90 million domestically and $80 million internationally, but it became a nostalgic favorite thanks to DVD sales and TV reruns.
8/10 Tron Only Earned $33 Million
Budget: $17 Million | Box Office: $50 Million
Tron was a cult classic in every sense of the term. Besides being a highly influential (if underrated) sci-fi movie from the ’80s, Tron bombed horribly in theaters. Tron only earned $33 million domestically and around $17 million internationally. Worse, Tron was actually Disney’s highest-grossing live-action movie at the time.
Tron endured thanks to its merchandise sales and unforgettable visuals. Because the movie remained in the popular zeitgeist for decades, Disney greenlit a sequel, Tron: Legacy, nearly 30 years later. Tron: Legacy was fine, but like its predecessor, it underperformed domestically and was considered a flop when its global receipts were added.
7/10 Hocus Pocus Only Earned $17.4 Million
Budget: $28 Million | Box Office: $45.4 Million
Because of how synonymous Hocus Pocus is with Halloween, it’s easy to forget that it bombed horribly in cinemas. Hocus Pocus earned back around $16 million domestically, and it only got $1 million internationally. Part of the reason why Hocus Pocus bombed terribly was because it opened the same week Free Willy did.
Despite this failure, Hocus Pocus became a cult classic thanks to its annual Halloween airings on Disney Channel. Hocus Pocus inspired so much nostalgia that Disney released a sequel in 2020. Following Tron: Legacy’s failure as a theatrical legacy sequel, Hocus Pocus 2‘s streaming release was a smarter decision on Disney’s part.
6/10 Bambi Only Earned $2.1 Million
Budget: $858,000 | Domestic Box Office: $3 Million
Following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs‘ surprise success in 1937, Disney put all of its resources into animated movies. This resulted in three beloved movies, including Bambi. The problem was that Bambi was released in 1941. Not only were Americans too busy with the war effort to watch Bambi, but the global market was practically non-existent.
Given Bambi’s budget, a $3 million haul (not adjusted for inflation) may not seem so bad. But when contrasted with Snow White’s $8 million box office total and $1.5 million budget, Bambi’s failure becomes more apparent. Bambi only became a childhood icon and box office hit after it was rereleased in theaters on an almost annual basis.
5/10 Sleeping Beauty (1959) Lost $700,000
Budget: $6 Million | Domestic Box Office: $5.3 Million
Today, Sleeping Beauty is highly regarded as the most technically impressive movie made during Disney’s immediate post-war years. However, audiences and critics felt differently in 1959. The most common criticism against Sleeping Beauty was that it was too similar to Snow White. As a result, it only earned $5.3 million domestically.
Another aspect of Sleeping Beauty‘s failure that gets overshadowed by its legacy is how it was a bad turning point for Disney. After Sleeping Beauty‘s flop, Disney restructured its animation division, laid off employees, and slashed all cartoon budgets. It was only during the Renaissance of the ’80s that Disney took animation seriously again.
4/10 Alice In Wonderland (1951) Lost $1 Million
Budget: $3 Million | Domestic Box Office: $2.4 Million
Even today, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is still regarded as the definitive adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s novel of the same name. However, Alice in Wonderland only gained this glowing reputation after the fact. In 1951, it flopped in theaters. Technically, Alice in Wonderland lost $600,000, but Disney officially declared the loss to be $1 million.
Based on reviews from the time, Alice in Wonderland flopped in theaters because audiences weren’t ready for its surrealism. Unlike the other Disney movies, Alice in Wonderland was first re-released on TV instead of in cinemas. This turned Alice in Wonderland into a childhood staple and soon enjoyed successful theatrical rereleases.
3/10 Fantasia Lost $1 Million
Budget: $2.3 Million | Domestic Box Office: $1.3 Million
Like Pinocchio before it and Bambi after it, Fantasia’s box office earnings were greatly impacted by World War II. Not helping matters was how overly ambitious Fantasia was. Besides being an experimental musical that didn’t immediately intrigue general audiences, Fantasia was released on the expensive roadshow format Fantasound.
Fantasia opened in November 1940. By early 1941, Fantasia earned a mere $1.3 million. Worse, 9 of 10 Fantasound systems were dismantled for the war effort. Fantasia’s financial failures were basically buried by its successful rereleases and video sales. Today, Fantasia is better remembered as a monument to animation than a bomb.
2/10 Pinocchio (1940) Lost $1.2 Million
Budget: $2.6 Million | Domestic Box Office: $1.4 Million
Pinocchio was the first animated movie Disney released after Snow White’s gargantuan success. The studio was confident that Pinocchio would be another hit, but they didn’t account for World War II’s looming shadow. Thanks to the lack of a global market, Pinocchio only earned around $1.4 million from an uninterested domestic audience.
Despite bombing financially, Pinocchio earned stellar word of mouth as early as February 1940. Critics praised Pinocchio for its animation and story and encouraged audiences to watch it. Like many of Disney’s older movies, Pinocchio was consistently rereleased theatrically. This turned Pinocchio into a box office hit, and its failures were all but forgotten.
1/10 Soul Lost $29 Million
Budget: $150 Million | Global Box Office: $121 Million
Soul was praised for being one of Pixar’s most heartfelt and mature movies yet. Because of its glowing reception and exclusive release on Disney+, many fans never realized that Soul bombed in theaters. Soul never got a domestic cinematic release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it only got a limited theatrical run in other countries.
Not helping matters was how Disney barely promoted Soul even before the COVID-19 pandemic threw its cinematic release awry. For what it’s worth, Soul consistently topped the international box office and viewing charts. Soul‘s failures didn’t matter to viewers who were greatly affected by its genuinely life-affirming messages.
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