Disney Had 2022’s Biggest Movie Flop

For decades, The Walt Disney Company built a reputation of being the best animation studio on the block. Films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Bambi, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, and so many more have become a part of animation history. Even more modern films like Frozen, Moana, and Encanto have cemented a place in our hearts. However, not every movie created by a studio can be a hit. So, even though the studio saw success in 2022 with movies like Turning Red, Disenchanted, and Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers, it also saw several flops. In fact, Disney had the biggest movie flop of the year.

In a new report from Deadline Hollywood, the biggest box office flop of the year went to the Disney animated film, Strange World. The film lost an astonishing $197.4 million at the box office. That puts it at almost the same loss as Disney’s 2012 live-action film, John Carter.

Per Deadline:

It’s not enough to say that original animation is a challenge at the box office when it comes to Strange World‘s failure. The movie centered on a family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. Some might say Disney’s embrace of a gay character in the film turned off red-state audiences, while critics found the fantasy pic to be clunky and incomprehensible, and the animation retro and stale. Disney nonetheless supported the movie with a full theatrical release and dated it during their traditional five-day Thanksgiving launchpad, where it saw a record-low start for a Disney Animation title during that frame with $18.8M. Disney knew the goods were soured and had Strange World on Disney+ a month later, by December 23. Disney has done better in their first go-rounds with original IP in Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia.

Unfortunately, Strange World was not the only animated flop that Disney Animation saw in 2022. Lightyear also lost just over $100 million at the box office. The film told the story of Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger who inspired the classic toy first seen in the 1995 film, Toy Story. Lightyear starred Chris Evans as the titular space ranger. Evans had seen massive success with Disney when he portrayed Captain America in a number of Marvel movies.

However, Lightyear saw a lot of pushback before it even hit theaters. Many Toy Story fans were not happy that Disney had decided to replace the voice of Buzz Lightyear for the new film. The Santa Clauses star Tim Allen voiced Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. However, since the new film told the story of the man who inspired the toy, Disney went with a new voice actor. Much like Strange World, other people did not like the fact that Lightyear had a gay character.

2023 didn’t start off great for Disney, either. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania had Marvel’s worst box office opening to date. However, there are several films coming out that are expected to see box-office success. This includes the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, The Haunted Mansion, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.