Screen Rant
Disney’s Most Shocking Box Office Movie Failures
By Dalton Norman
March 4, 2026
It’s always a bit surprising when a Disney movie flops at the box office, but these financial failures are downright shocking. For decades, Disney has represented the pinnacle of success in film. Though the studio has struggled in the past, they have never stopped producing top-notch movies that have stood the test of time.
From their animated films to their live-action fare, Disney has successfully diversified their movie output without losing their brand identity. While this has led to a lot of peaks, the studio is no stranger to valleys. Disney has released quite a few box office bombs, but not all of them have been surprising.
Even Disney has made movies that were obviously DOA, and those flicks stick out in the studio’s catalog as monuments to bad business decisions. However, their shocking flops are often movies that should have been hits. While these bombs might not be great films, they had all the ingredients to be financial successes.
Newsies (1992) – $2.8 Million
The newsboys march with newspapers in their hands in Newsies
Disney and musicals are a match made in movie heaven, but Newsies breaks that trend. The live-action story is set in 1899 New York City, and concerns precocious newsboys who go on strike against their unfair bosses. Disney produced the film for $15 million, but it only made about $3 million at the box office.
This is surprising considering the scope and scale of the film, and Disney’s power in the family-friendly market. The movie got middling reviews, but is now fondly remembered as a hidden gem. Had Newsies been released a few years later in Disney’s renaissance, it probably would have been more successful.
Sleeping Beauty (1959) – $5 Million
Aurora sleeps as the godmothers look on in Sleeping Beauty
Despite being one of Walt Disney Animation’s greatest achievements, Sleeping Beauty is actually a pretty significant financial misstep for the company. The legendary fairy tale is brought to life with gorgeous scenic design and stunning animation, and every penny is clearly onscreen. Unfortunately, the film’s massive $6 million budget made box office success nearly impossible.
The fact that Sleeping Beauty bombed is usually left out of Disney’s polished version of history, and it is arguably the studio’s most surprising failure. No other flop has had such a tremendous positive impact on the company, and it holds a sainted place in their animated canon though it nearly put them out of business.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) – $8.4 Million
Something Wicked This Way Comes is only just now being rediscovered, and it was buried for decades after it bombed upon release. It adapts Ray Bradbury’s eponymous novel, and follows two young boys who find their idyllic hometown invaded by a dark carnival. The production was a disaster, and that spilled over into its theatrical release.
Though it cost $20 million, the movie made back less than half at the box office. Something Wicked This Way Comes probably wasn’t going to be a smash-hit, but it’s still shocking that it did so poorly. Better advertising could have sold the film’s darker themes a bit better, so it didn’t suffer from negative word-of-mouth.
Hocus Pocus (1993) – $39 Million
Bette Midler shoots lightning from her fingers in Hocus Pocus
Now a fixture of the Halloween season, it may come as a surprise to learn that Hocus Pocus was a financial disappointment for Disney back in 1993. The charming chiller sees ancient witches return from the grave to terrorize a sleepy town on Halloween. The critically-panned movie outgrossed its budget but still lost Disney a pretty big chunk of change.
There are numerous reasons why Hocus Pocus flopped, but the most obvious is that it was released in July instead of October. With Jurassic Park dominating the box office, Disney’s cutesy Halloween film was totally ignored. Considering its overwhelming popularity, the theatrical flop has likely paid off for Disney in the long run.
Treasure Planet (2002) – $110 Million
Disney has had a long-standing fascination with Treasure Island, but the classic adventure story failed to launch when it was repackaged as Treasure Planet. The sci-fi/fantasy tale takes Robert Louis Stevenson’s book and sets it in outer space. Sadly, Treasure Planet was one of the last nails in the coffin of the Disney renaissance.
The beautiful traditionally-animated film cost upwards of $140 million (the most expensive to date), and its impressive box office take wasn’t enough to overcome its bloated costs. That’s not to say Treasure Planet is a bad movie. In fact, it’s one of the best films Disney made in the early 2000s, and is now a beloved cult classic.
Elio (2025) – $154 Million
The 2020s have not been particularly kind to Disney, but Elio’s financial disappointment is still quite shocking. A lonely boy suddenly finds himself whisked across the galaxy where he is mistaken for the Earth’s ambassador. Elio looks like yet another Disney classic, but the Pixar production completely fizzled when it finally hit theaters.
On a budget that tops out at $200 million, the film has eked out about $150 million. That’s a significant loss, and it’s one of the most surprisingly tepid releases in the studio’s long history. It’s not so shocking that the movie failed, because Disney and Pixar clearly had little interest in actually getting anyone excited to see it.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) – $186 Million
Milo talks to Kida while holding a book in Atlantis the Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire was a gamble for Disney, and it did not pay off. An inexperienced explorer leads a rag-tag team on an adventure to find the titular city, and fulfill his grandfather’s lifelong dream. Atlantis was like nothing Disney had released up to that point, and that is likely why it flopped.
It made nearly $200 million against a $120 million budget, but still suffered losses when factoring in additional costs. The failure of Atlantis: The Lost Empire isn’t as extreme as other early 2000s Disney bombs, but it’s shocking because of how well-loved the film is now. It could have been a hit if the budget had been slimmed down.
Wish (2023) – $254 Million
Asha talks to Valentino on a balcony in Wish
Symbolically speaking, Wish was a very obvious course correction for Disney as they reeled from several setbacks in the early 2020s. The fantasy musical concerns a young woman who must use the power of her own wishes to save her kingdom from an evil sorcerer. Bad reviews shouldn’t have been enough to tank the movie.
However, tank it did. Wish made over $250 million, but that wasn’t enough to recoup the overall costs. It’s a wholly uninspired and bland experience, but it is draped in enough Disney cliché to at least put butts in seats. It’s shocking how poorly Wish performed, and further proves how volatile the post-COVID box office has been for Disney.
A Christmas Carol (2009) – $325 Million
The Ghost of Christmas Present looms over a grumpy Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
Hollywood has gotten a lot of mileage out of Charles Dickens’ classic novella, but Disney’s A Christmas Carol is an unusual failure. Using cutting-edge CGI tech, Disney brought Scrooge’s whimsical Christmas adventure to life with Jim Carrey in the lead role. It made a lot of money, but not enough to see a profit.
The L.A. Times estimates the film lost between $50 and $100 million, even though it grossed well over $300 million. It isn’t shocking that the film isn’t well liked, mostly because of its uncanny visuals. However, it is surprising that a film like A Christmas Carol can make so much money but still be a gigantic box office flop.
??????The Good Dinosaur (2015) – $332 Million
Arlo and the dinosaur look up in wonder in The Good Dinosaur
Occasionally, a film flops despite being a blockbuster. The Good Dinosaur is Disney’s animated contribution to that unusual club, although it’s not something to be proud of. The film follows a primitive human boy who befriends a kind dinosaur. It was Pixar’s simplest film up to that point, and is one of their more lackluster offerings.
The Good Dinosaur climbed to an impressive $332 million at the box office, but couldn’t overcome soaring costs. It’s Disney and Pixar’s most shocking box office failure because it looks like a success on the surface. It illustrates how razor-thin profit margins can be on Hollywood productions, and is a warning about inflated budgets.
