Disney has always been a driving force in the movie world. After all, it already has the highly successful Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars franchise under its belt. Aside from these hits, the company has also produced a slew of animated films that have gone on to strike gold in the box office. But did you know that Disney has its fair share of critical and commercial failures? Not even big-named superstars were able to save these films. Today, let us take a look at some Disney flops you might not have known about.
5 Disney Flops in the Box Office
5. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Budget: $150–$200 million
Box office: $336.4 million
This movie seemingly had it all: a movie based on a highly successful video game, A-list actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and a multimillion dollar budget. Unfortunately, Prince of Persia did not recoup its budget for a potential franchise, and it ended up to be one of the biggest Disney flops of all time.
4. Treasure Planet (2002)
Budget: $140 million
Box office: $109 million
Treasure Planet was the animated adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island. While it may have taken the creative step forward by using a space setting with futuristic characters, the film still bombed at the box office and now lands on the list of Disney flops. Turns out not even the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emma Thompson could save the film.
3. Mars Needs Moms (2011)
Budget: $150 million
Box office: $39 million
In the plethora of successful films produced by Disney, there is bound to be a big box office bomb. So far in the history of this major production studio, Mars Needs Moms had to be the biggest box office disappointment. The movie practically had nothing to make up for, with critics slamming everything from the plot and the underdeveloped characters. To make matters worse, the features turned out to be one of the most costly Disney flops of all time, the studio wasn’t able to recoup even half of its invested budget.
2. John Carter (2012)
Budget: $263.7 million
Box office: $284.1 million
Aside from the visual thrills, this movie really does not have anything else to deliver, so it comes as no surprise that it ended up being one of the most disappointing Disney films ever.
John Carter was actually an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel series. Unfortunately, it did not even get green-lighted for a sequel due to its less-than-stellar run.
1. The Lone Ranger
Budget: $225 million
Box office: $260.5 million
Johnny Depp is known to play peculiar characters, so it was a no-brainer to cast him as Tonto in The Lone Ranger. Unfortunately, that decision was met with controversy as the said character was supposed to be a Native American. This, along with a lackluster plot, led to a poor box office run. Things seemed to go downhill for Depp from there, as his current Disney feature Alice Through the Looking Glass did not perform as well as its predecessor either.