7 Great Disney Animated Movies That Bombed At the Box Office

Disney has released tons of animated hits throughout the decades, but some of their other film’s haven’t fared so well. While commercial success has nothing to do with quality, word of mouth helps a lot, meaning that films released during Disney’s slumps were less likely to do well than films from the Disney Renaissance, for example.

However, even when Disney was in a slump, they still released some great films. All of these movies didn’t make their money back for one reason or another, but there is still a lot to love when viewing them today. So, here are seven of Disney’s animated flops, starting with the worst film and ending with the best.

7) Home on the Range

Home on the Range is one of the movies that contributed to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ decision to leave the world of hand-drawn animation and move to computer-animated films. This was mostly because of the film’s box office failure, with it only making $145.3 million against a budget of $110 million. However, the film is still one of Disney’s better comedies, and the hand-drawn animation looks incredible, even if Disney thinks it was killing the studio.

6) Onward

Pixar films usually do pretty well, but one of the big exceptions to that is 2020’s Onward. The film was released in March of 2020, meaning that its box office run was abruptly ended by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The film made $141.9 million against a budget of $200 million, which was a major blow for the studio. While Onward definitely isn’t Pixar’s best, there’s a lot to love, and the sibling relationship between the main characters has a ton of heart.

5) The Black Cauldron

1985’s The Black Cauldron is known as the film that almost killed Disney, with the notorious box office flop making only $21.3 million against a budget of $44 million. While a loss like this wouldn’t even make Disney flinch today, the studio was seriously struggling in the 1980s and was in need of a hit. While this has definitely tainted the film’s legacy, The Black Cauldron was still great, with the dark fantasy story being a far cry from the rest of Disney’s fantasy films.

4) Meet the Robinsons

2007’s Meet the Robinsons is a weird film, but it is also full of heart, with it being one of Disney’s best stories about family. It is one of Disney’s early computer-animated films, meaning that the animation has its rough spots, but this gives the movie a lot of charm. Sadly, the movie only made $170.5 million against a massive budget of $150 million, meaning that it didn’t make its money back after marketing and distribution costs.

3) Atlantis: The Lost Empire

2001’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire is one of Disney’s many early-2000s flops, but it is still an incredible film. True sci-fi wasn’t something that Disney typically delved into, so the Jules Verne-inspired tale was incredibly unique and a fun way to create a timeless sci-fi story. Atlantis is one of Disney’s best-looking films due to its art style, which is a lot more angular and caracturized than the studio’s typical movies, as well as its action and the worldbuilding of Atlantis.

The scale of the film inflated its budget to $120 million, and while this wasn’t Disney’s most expensive film at the time, it was pretty high. The film made $186.1 million at the box office, meaning that it probably didn’t make its money back after marketing and distribution costs are factored in.

2) Fantastia 2000

1940’s Fantasia is one of the most beloved and innovative things that Walt Disney did. The film has remained iconic in the decades since its release, and after a 1990 reissue of Fantasia made $25 million domestically, Disney saw dollar signs. So, development on a sequel began, and Fantasia 2000 was released. It was an incredible homage to the original, featuring segments that live up to some of the first film’s, beautiful animation, and incredible music.

However, the level of quality didn’t translate to financial success. The film cost $85 million, and at the end of its box office run, it only made $90.9 million. The experimental film didn’t fare nearly as well as its predecessor did in 1940, making it a major box office disappointment.

1) Treasure Planet

2002’s Treasure Planet is one of Disney’s most underrated movies, and arguably one of the best they’ve ever directed. The passion project of legendary directors John Musker and Ron Clements is a sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island, and its massive scale and innovative animation made it an expensive project. The film wound up costing a whopping $140 million, significantly more than the other Disney movies that were being released at the time.

This investment didn’t pay off for Disney, because Treasure Planet only made $109.6 million, meaning that it lost a lot of money. It remains one of Disney’s most notable box office failures, but its quality has led to the film developing a massive cult following in the years since its release.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

These 5 Flops Prove Live-Action Disney Remakes Aren’t Bulletproof At The Box Office