Haunted Mansion Director Opens Up About Film’s Poor Reviews

Back in 2003, Disney attempted to deliver audiences an adaptation of their beloved Haunted Mansion ride, with that Eddie Murphy-starring movie not faring well with critics, as it only sits at 13% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. While this year’s Haunted Mansion from director Justin Simien performed a little bit better, it still only earned 37% positive reviews, with Simien himself weighing in on those reactions, admitting that while it’s a “bummer,” his priority was to take audiences on a journey as opposed to aiming for critical accolades. Haunted Mansion is out now on home video and is streaming on Disney+.

“It’s a bummer, to be honest. It’s a bummer to feel like people don’t get something that you’re doing, and that you’ve worked so hard on, but ultimately, it’s usually been the other way around,” Simien shared with Screen Rant. “Especially with Dear White People coming out of Sundance, where critics loved Dear White People, and audiences eventually loved it. But at first, it was incredibly divisive, and it was incredibly polarizing.” 

He continued, “So, with this film, it was interesting, I went into it wanting to make a crowd pleaser, and kind of wanting to prove to myself that I could, that I knew how to bring an audience through a story. So, I’m glad that that part of it came to fruition, I’m glad I was able to accomplish that. I don’t typically read my own reviews, I learned that lesson a while ago, especially when they’re good. But on this one, I read a couple of them, and it felt like, I don’t know, I wasn’t quite sure what movie they were talking about all the time. It felt like there were some other things going on in those reviews, I gotta say, than just what was happening in the movie, and that kind of thing is just out of your control, you know? I think, if anything, it was actually a really great lesson as a filmmaker, in terms of who you make your movies for, and why you make them, and what your own marker for success is. To me, I’d rather have the audience go on the journey I want them to go on than anything. So, I don’t know, the rest is just kind of take it as you get it.”

In addition to critical responses being underwhelming, the film’s box office fell short of expectations, taking in only $115.8 million worldwide. Likely one reason the film wasn’t a major financial success was that it was released in the summer as opposed to in the middle of the spooky season, though back in 1993, Hocus Pocus similarly opened in the summer to a poor box office performance and has since become a cult classic. Rotten Tomatoes notes that the audience score of Haunted Mansion is 84%, so the passing years could see it earning a larger following.

Haunted Mansion is out now on home video and streaming on Disney+.

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