Haunted Mansioncontinues to face a scary landscape at the box office, but it looks like there might actually be some good news for the film based on one of the most popular Disneyland attractions. With its current $92 million total on a global scale,Justin Simien’s spooky tale is crawling closer and closer to $100 million at the worldwide box office. If the movie managed to cross that line in the coming weeks, it could soften the blow the studio received by releasing the title so early.
WhenHaunted Mansionopened at the domestic box office with merely $24 million, it turned out to be a complicated start for the studio. The movie’s budget was reportedly generous, and clearly the number it saw when it arrived to the big screen for the first time wouldn’t favor Disney in the long run. While the studio found success withGuardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3andElemental’s surprising comeback after an underwhelming debut, it has also had to deal with the launches ofIndiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyandHaunted Mansionthis summer. While this summer movie season its nearing its conclusion, Disney is already aiming to make a statement closer to the end of the year, whenThe MarvelsandWisharrive in theaters.
In Justin Simien’s spooky adaptation, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) is looking for a new home for herself and her son after her husband tragically passed away before the events of the movie took place. After finding a suspiciously cheap house in New Orleans, she takes her son with her, only to find that the residence is already occupied by a selection of ghouls and ghosts. Without knowing who to turn to, Gabbie knew that she needed to start moving because the ghosts were too big of a threat to handle alone. And the people she would find in her quest would form a very curious team.
Not That Kind of Ghostbusters
The first person to be recruited by Gabbie was Kent (Owen Wilson), a man who pretended to be a priest in order to charge for his services. While his practices may sound like he’s an awful person, Kent is actually kind and charismatic, making him the perfect choice for convincing Ben (LaKeith Stanfield) to join the team. As a depressed widower, Ben doesn’t see the point of believing Gabbie when she said the house was cursed, but when the ghosts follow him to his house, Ben knows it’s time for him to step up and defeat the Hat Box Ghost (Jared Leto) once and for all.
