History ScrewedByTheNetwork / DisneyFilms

* When sexual assault allegations against actor Creator/JeffreyTambor surfaced in 2017, Disney quietly removed ''Film/MagicCamp'' from it's April 6, 2018 release date in September of that year and later announced in February 2018 that it was bound for Creator/DisneyPlus. Despite having been completed, however, the film was not included with the launch slate when the service launched on November 12, 2019. The film went unmentioned until Disney+ quietly announced a release date of August 14, 2020 when listing new content for the service of programs that were set to premiere in August 2020. The film received no promotional materials until four days before its release (none of which featured Tambor) and debuted on the service just a week after ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' (which was being much more prominently advertised after its theatrical release was canceled due to [[UsefulNotes/COVID-19Pandemic COVID-19]]) and on the same day that popular titles like the 2017 film ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' and the 2018 film ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' arrived on the service. It was also NotScreenedForCritics. Needless to say, it debuted very low on the list of Disney+'s "Trending" titles.

* When sexual assault allegations against actor Creator/JeffreyTambor surfaced in 2017, Disney quietly removed ''Film/MagicCamp'' from it's April 6, 2018 release date in September of that year and later announced in February 2018 that it was bound for Creator/DisneyPlus. Despite having been completed, however, the film was not included with the launch slate when the service launched on November 12, 2019. The film went unmentioned until Disney+ quietly announced a release date of August 14, 2020 when listing new content for the service of programs that were set to premiere in August 2020. The film received no promotional materials until four days before its release (none of which featured Tambor) and debuted on the service just a week after ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' (which was being much more prominently advertised after its theatrical release was canceled due to UsefulNotes/{{COVID-19}}) and on the same day that popular titles like the 2017 film ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' and the 2018 film ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' arrived on the service. It was also NotScreenedForCritics. Needless to say, it debuted very low on the list of Disney+'s "Trending" titles.

* When sexual assault allegations against actor Creator/JeffreyTambor surfaced in 2017, Disney quietly removed ''Film/MagicCamp'' from it's April 6, 2018 release date in September of that year and later announced in February 2018 that it was bound for Creator/DisneyPlus. Despite having been completed, however, the film was not includedwith the launch slate when the service launched on November 12, 2019. The film went unmentioned until Disney+ quietly announced a release date of August 14, 2020 when listing new content for the service of programs that were set to premiere in August 2020. The film received no promotional materials until four days before its release (none of which featured Tambor) and debuted on the service just a week after ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' (which was being much more prominently advertised after its theatrical release was canceled due to UsefulNotes/{{COVID-19}}) and on the same day that popular titles like the 2017 film ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' and the 2018 film ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' arrived on the service. It was also NotScreenedForCritics. Needless to say, it debuted very low on the list of Disney+'s "Trending" titles.

* When sexual assault allegations against actor Creator/JeffreyTambor surfaced in 2017, Disney quietly removed ''Film/MagicCamp'' from it's April 6, 2018 release date in September of that year and later announced in February 2018 that it was bound for Creator/DisneyPlus. Despite having been completed, however, the film was not included on launch slate when the service launched on November 12, 2019. The film went unmentioned until Disney+ quietly announced a release date of August 14, 2020 when listing new content for the service of programs that were set to premiere in August 2020. The film received no promotional materials until four days before its release (none of which featured Tambor) and debuted on the service just a week after ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' (which was being much more prominently advertised after its theatrical release was canceled due to UsefulNotes/COVID-19) and on the same day that popular titles like the 2017 film ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' and the 2018 film ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' arrived on the service. It was also NotScreenedForCritics. Needless to say, it debuted very low on the list of Disney+'s "Trending" titles.

* When sexual assault allegations against actor Creator/JeffreyTambor surfaced in 2017, Disney quietly removed ''Film/MagicCamp'' from it's April 6, 2018 release date in September of that year and later announced in February 2018 that it was bound for Creator/DisneyPlus. Despite having been completed, however, the film was not included on launch slate when the service launched on November 12, 2019. The film went unmentioned until Disney+ quietly announced a release date of August 14, 2020 when listing new content for the service of programs that were set to premiere in August 2020. The film received no promotional materials until four days before its release (none of which featured Tambor) and debuted on the service just a week after ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' (which was being much more prominently advertised after its theatrical release was canceled due to UsefulNotes/COVID-19) and on the same day that popular titles like the 2017 film ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' and the 2018 film ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' arrived on the service. It was also NotScreenedForCritics. Needless to say, it debuted very low on the list of Disney+'s "Trending" titles.

** ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'': released on Thanksgiving weekend with almost no marketing whatsoever and died against ''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} Twilight: New Moon]]'' and ''Film/TheBlindSide''.

* ''Film/HauntedMansion2023'' was released in the middle of summer 2023, on July 28th of that year, which many pointed out by many box office analysts as something that led it to being doomed from the start. While Disney's logic was ostensibly based on taking advantage from kids being off from school during summer vacation, the dual releases of ''Film/Barbie2023'' and ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' the weekend prior was already expected to be ''the'' big Hollywood event of summer 2023, and the film seemed far more appropriate for the Halloween season. Even if Disney was worried about the stacked fall 2023 schedule (including ''Film/TheNunII'', ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'', ''Film/SawX'', ''Film/TheExorcistBeliever'', and ''Film/FiveNightsAtFreddys2023''), none of those properties were particularly family-friendly, which made the summer release even more confusing. The film ultimately landed on Creator/DisneyPlus on October 4th of that year, just in time for Halloween, drawing criticism towards Disney itself for treating the streaming debut as more important than the theatrical release date.

* ''Film/HauntedMansion2023'' was released in the middle of summer 2023, on July 28th of that year, which many pointed out by many box office analysts as something that led it to being doomed from the start. While Disney's logic was ostensibly based on taking advantage from kids being off from school during summer vacation, the dual releases of ''Film/Barbie2023'' and ''Film/Oppenheimer'' the weekend prior was already expected to be ''the'' big Hollywood event of summer 2023, and the film seemed far more appropriate for the Halloween season. Even if Disney was worried about the stacked fall 2023 schedule (including ''Film/TheNunII'', ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'', ''Film/SawX'', ''Film/TheExorcistBeliever'', and ''Film/FiveNightsAtFreddys2023''), none of those properties were particularly family-friendly, making the summer release even more confusing. The film ultimately landed on Creator/DisneyPlus on October 4th of that year, just in time for Halloween, drawing criticism towards Disney itself for treating the streaming debut as more important than the theatrical release date.

* In 2024, the three Pixar films that were sent straight to Creator/DisneyPlus - ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' - had nationwide releases to compensate for the delay of ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' to 2025, but prior to ''Soul'''s release on January 12, some theaters cancelled it for unknown reasons. Most likely they didn't think audiences would come out since it ''had'' been streaming for 3+ years...and was scheduled to premiere on broadcast TV on the 21st. Given it opened in ''20th'' place...

* In 2024, the three Pixar films that were sent straight to Creator/DisneyPlus - ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' - had nationwide releases to compensate for the delay of ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' to 2025, but prior to ''Soul'''s release on January 12, some theaters cancelled it for unknown reasons. Most likely they didn't think audiences would come out since it ''had'' been streaming for 3+ years...and was scheduled to premiere on broadcast TV on the 21st!

* In Japan, ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' was released on the same day as ''Hero 2'' and had competition in the form of the critically-acclaimed ''Anime/TheBoyAndTheBeast''. Due to this, it became Pixar's second lowest-grossing film in Japan, only beaten by ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', which was beaten by a [[Anime/PokemonKyuremVsTheSwordOfJustice Pokémon film]]. The ironic part? ''Inside Out'' made more money than [[Anime/PokemonHoopaAndTheClashOfAges the Pokémon film that came out that same weekend]], although that could be in part due to its declining popularity in the country thanks to ''Anime/YoKaiWatch''. It later became popular and knocked the Pokémon film out of the top ten on its third weekend, and has already made more money than ''Film/{{Annie|2014}}'' did in its entire run.

* Creator/MiramaxFilms (under Disney's watch) managed to run ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''' theatrical films in the States to the ground. After ''Anime/Pokemon3'' failed to meet Creator/WarnerBros' financial expectations, the contract with Warner lapsed and the rights were passed on to Miramax, then owned by Disney. Apparently, Miramax had no interest in the Pokémon series and sabotaged the U.S. releases of ''Anime/Pokemon4Ever'' and ''Anime/PokemonHeroes'' respectively. First they gave the films an extremely small advertising campaign, released them at less than 300 theaters (compared to Warner's films, which were released in more than or around 3,000 theaters) and pulled them from the theaters after two months. The end result was that both films failed to gross more than $10 million at the box office, with ''Heroes'' failing to reach the $1 million mark. As a result, ''Anime/PokemonJirachiWishmaker'' and ''Anime/PokemonDestinyDeoxys'' were made exclusively direct-to-video before Miramax's license expired, after which Pokémon USA permanently assumed the rights to the entire anime. It would take thirteen years for The Pokémon Company to decide to give worldwide theatrical distribution another chance, partnering up with Creator/LegendaryPictures for a [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action]] ''Pokémon'' movie, but rather than expand the anime's story or start a new live-action Pokémon universe, the trio decided to go a new direction: [[Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu focusing entirely on Pikachu and his escapades and base it on the spin-off]] ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu'', which had not been released outside Japan at that point. Ironically, Warner Bros. (outside Japan and China) handled distribution of this film (after Universal broke off from their deal with Legendary), marking the first time in 18 years the studio distributed a ''Pokémon'' film.

* Following the blockbuster success of ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', there were high hopes that Disney would replicate that success with the sequel ''Film/PrinceCaspian'' three years later. In a very odd decision, Disney opted to reserve that holiday season's slate for ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'' and ''Film/BedtimeStories2008'', while choosing to release ''Prince Caspian'' in May, right in between ''Film/IronMan'' and ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. They also heavily butchered the marketing campaign by trying to market it as a teen film and put Ben Barnes' Prince Caspian character as the film's selling point, even though Caspian is largely a supporting character at best in the film. Consequently, it barely managed to recoup its budget domestically, and did far worse overseas, turning in a much smaller profit than the previous movie (in large part due to its $225 million budget) and causing Disney to bail the ''Narnia'' franchise at the end of the year. [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Twentieth Century Fox]] was then [[ChannelHop brought in]] by co-producer Creator/WaldenMedia to release ''Film/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' as a result.

* In 2024, the three Pixar films that were sent straight to Creator/DisneyPlus - ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' - had nationwide releases to compensate for the delay of ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' to 2025, but prior to ''Soul'''s release on January 12, some theaters cancelled it for unknown reasons. Most likely they didn't think audiences would come out since it ''had'' been streaming for 3+ years...and was scheduled to premiere on broadcast TV on the 21st.

* ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' was seemingly set up to fail. It was originally pitched in 1985 after ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' in the same meeting that greenlit ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', then re-pitched again after the success of the directors' next film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', before it was approved on the condition their next film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', was a success. By the time development started, Jeffrey Katzenberg had left for Creator/{{DreamWorks|SKG}} and his replacement, Michael Eisner, had no stake in the film's success, so the marketing was [[MisaimedMarketing misaimed]], [[NeverTrustATrailer misleading]] and [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil full of spoilers]] and it was released in winter opposite ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'' and Disney's own ''Film/TheSantaClause 2'', rather than a summer release, leading to it underperforming at the box office and failing to recoup its $140 million budget (it was very expensive to make due to its extensive use of deep canvas). Directors John Musker and Ron Clements nearly resigned from Disney to reunite with Katzenberg, but Eisner was forced out and John Lasseter convinced them to stay and make ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''.

* Creator/{{Disney}} released ''WesternAnimation/{{Winnie the Pooh|2011}}'' in the US on the same weekend as ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows - Part II'' (the highly-anticipated GrandFinale to that franchise) with [[InvisibleAdvertising virtually no marketing]] to support the film. The reason for the studio's bleak outlook on the film was actually due to its disappointing international numbers (where the film flopped against ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' and ''Film/{{Hop}}'' while Disney chose to skip ''Pooh'' in several regions in Asia (minus Japan and the Philippines) in favor of Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' getting released there) and because other ''Pooh'' movies haven't fared well theatrically, but have done nicely on DVD. The box-office failure of this movie caused Disney to [[GenreKiller seriously reconsider making any future hand-drawn animated films]], prompting some to question if Disney deliberately sent it out to die so they shift focus once more exclusively towards CG animated films[[note]]this was shortly after they returned to the animation style for the first time in years with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', which despite being well-received only made a modest profit and was vastly outgrossed by Disney's CG-animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' the following year[[/note]].

* In 2024, the three Pixar films that were sent straight to Creator/DisneyPlus - ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' - had nationwide releases to compensate for the delay of ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' to 2025, but prior to ''Soul'''s release on January 12, some theaters cancelled it for unknown reasons. Most likely they didn't think audiences would come out since it ''had'' been on streaming for 3+ years '''and''' was scheduled to premiere on broadcast TV on the 21st.