Disney’s Strange World was biggest box office bomb of 2022 with loss of nearly $US200 million

Disney suffered the biggest box office bomb of 2022 with an eye-watering loss of nearly $300 million on this star-studded animated film.

Disney suffered the biggest box office bomb of 2022 with an eye-watering loss of nearly $US200 million ($300 million) on its family space adventure Strange World.

While it was supposed to be last year’s must-see Christmas movie, the animated film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu and Jaboukie Young-White was universally shunned by audiences and branded a “historic bomb” for the studio.

According to a new report from Deadline, Strange World’s total loss for Walt Disney Animation came in at $US197.4 million ($294.2 million).

That’s nearly double the second biggest bomb of 2022, Amsterdam, the Margot Robbie-starring ensemble comedy from American Hustle director David O. Russell, which lost $US108.4 million ($161.6 million).

Strange World was the biggest bomb of 2022. Picture: Disney

Strange World cost a total of $US317.4 million ($473.1 million) to produce but earned just $US73.5 million ($109.6 million) at the worldwide box office, according to Deadline estimates.

“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 publication wrote.

“The movie centred 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.

Jake Gyllenhaal attends the UK premiere. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty/Disney

“Disney nonetheless supported the movie with a full theatrical release and dated it during their traditional five-day Thanksgiving launch pad, where it saw a record-low start for a Disney Animation title during that frame with $US18.8 million.”

The film had been expected to rake in up to $US40 million in that period.

“Disney knew the goods were soured and had Strange World on Disney+ a month later, by December 23,” Deadline wrote.

It was the second box office animation flub from Disney in 2022, after Toy Story spin-off Lightyear also lost $US106 million ($158 million).

Strange World received lukewarm reviews from critics with a 72 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was even more poorly reviewed by audiences with a score of 66 per cent on the site.

“The director Don Hall and his co-director and screenwriter Qui Nguyen seem to have put all of their effort into gaudy backgrounds, wacky gadgets and strange ancillary monsters instead of into dramatic urgency or conflict,” Kyle Smith wrote for The Wall Street Journal.

The film lost nearly $US200 million. Picture: Disney

“Strange World has the makings of a fun, pulpy adventure story, and it is, but much of the plot is bogged down in strange, unfunny dialogue and a needlessly complicated storyline,” wrote IndieWire’s Emma Stefansky.

“The uneasy marriage of clunky psychodrama and overwrought special effects along with the fact that none of these characters are particularly likeable make Strange World a chore to sit through,” said Soren Andersen from the Seattle Times.

Prior to its release, the film also generated some outrage from conservative media pundits after it was touted as featuring the “first gay teen romance in animated feature film” from Disney.

Ben Shapiro from The Daily Wire wrote on Twitter in November, “As Disney begins pushing Strange World for next week’s release, here’s the reminder that their ‘not-at-all-secret gay agenda’ to target kids is ongoing. It’s a part of the plot of this movie, just as it was with Lightyear. Your kids, your choice.”

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Originally published as Disney’s Strange World was biggest box office bomb of 2022 with loss of nearly $US200 million