The 15 Biggest Box Office Disappointments in Animation History

Big studios, big budgets, empty theatres. A few of these later became cult favourites, which only sharpens the question.

1. 1
   Mars Needs Moms

   The motion-capture experiment that took $39M against a reported $150M budget in 2011.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Delgo

   The 2008 independent film that recorded one of the worst wide-release openings ever.
   551pts
3. 3
   Sing 2

   A well-reviewed sequel that opened into a pandemic winter and never caught its predecessor.
   551pts
4. 4
   Home on the Range

   The 2004 western that ended Disney's hand-drawn era for five years.
   551pts
5. 5
   Lightyear

   Pixar's 2022 Toy Story spin-off took $226M against a $200M budget and reportedly lost around $106M.
   466pts
6. 6
   The Good Dinosaur

   Pixar's only feature to lose money before Lightyear, after a mid-production reboot.
   466pts
7. 7
   The Iron Giant

   A film now treated as a classic that Warner Bros. barely marketed in 1999.
   466pts
8. 8
   Wish

   Disney's 2023 centenary film, which underperformed against a $200M budget.
   466pts
9. 9
   Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

   DreamWorks' 2023 comedy, which took under $50M worldwide.
   466pts
10. 10
    Rise of the Guardians

    The 2012 DreamWorks film whose write-down triggered studio layoffs.
    363pts
11. 11
    Titan A.E.

    Fox's 2000 space opera, which closed the studio's traditional animation division.
    233pts
12. 12
    Strange World

    Disney's 2022 pulp adventure grossed $73M worldwide and became the year's largest write-off.
    233pts
13. 13
    Atlantis: The Lost Empire

    Disney's 2001 pulp adventure, expensive and quickly shelved as a franchise.
    233pts
14. 14
    Elemental

    Pixar's 2023 release opened to the studio's worst debut before a long recovery run.
    233pts
15. 15
    Fantasia

    Disney's 1940 experiment, which took decades of re-releases to turn a profit.
    233pts