The 2023 Disney film Haunted Mansion struggled at the box office due to a combination of high-fidelity marketing errors and intense competition. One of the primary reasons cited by industry analysts was its theatrical release date in late July; releasing a spooky, Halloween-themed family film in the middle of a summer "blockbuster" season (alongside the massive cultural phenomenon of Barbenheimer) was seen as a major strategic blunder. Most audiences associate the brand with the autumn season, and the summer heat didn't match the film's "eerie" tone. Additionally, the film carried a massive production budget of roughly $150 million, making its path to profitability very steep. While the film was praised for its faithful recreation of the attraction's details, critics found the plot to be over-crowded and tonally inconsistent. The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike at the time also prevented the star-studded cast from promoting the film, which further dampened its "High-Fidelity" buzz. Ultimately, it found a much more receptive audience once it moved to Disney+ in time for October, suggesting its failure was one of timing rather than a lack of interest in the IP.