Welcome foolish mortals, to the second attempt to make a feature film out of Disneyland’s famous attraction, The Haunted Mansion. Thanks to the numerous Disney theme parks around the world, there are a few different variations of the Haunted Mansion. But the mythology behind the original ride has been enough to support a previous movie, The Haunted Mansion, which featured Eddie Murphy in the leading role. Now, 20 years later, Disney and director Justin Simien are trying again with a new Haunted Mansion that is completely separate from the previous film. We’ll just call it a reboot.
For the new film, LaKeith Stanfield is headlining the cast as Ben, a man whose grief for his recently deceased wife, Alyssa (Charity Jordan), has led him to become a paranormal guide. Rosario Dawson also stars as Gabbie, the new owner of the infamous Gracie Mansion, with Chase W. Dillon as her son, Travis. Gabbie and Travis quickly learn that their home is haunted, and not even fleeing the mansion allows them to escape the ghosts who will follow them wherever they go.
Tiffany Haddish also stars in the film as a psychic named Harriet, with Owen Wilson as Father Kent, Danny DeVito as Professor Bruce Davis, Everything Everywhere All at Once star Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota, Jared Leto as the voice of the Hatbox Ghost, and Winona Ryder in a small role as a tour guide named Pat.
Now, it’s time to answer your burning question about Haunted Mansion.
Is Haunted Mansion streaming?
No, not yet. Disney has largely abandoned the idea of simultaneously releasing films in theaters on the same day that they hit Disney+. This means that Haunted Mansion will haunt theaters for a minimum of 30 days before these ghosts start streaming. Of course, the more successful Haunted Mansion is in theaters, the longer it will stay there. But for the moment, it’s too soon to say how the film will fare in a very crowded summer landscape.
Will Haunted Mansion be available to stream at home?
Yes, and it should happen this fall. Possibly as soon as September, but it may be a better fit for October, given the spooky (and yet family-friendly) subject matter. Disney will likely release Haunted Mansion for digital and Blu-ray/4k before giving it a proper debut on Disney+.
If you just can’t wait a few months, the 2003 Haunted Mansion movie is streaming on Disney+ right now, and so is the delightful Muppets Haunted Mansion. That should tide you over until the new batch of grim grinning ghosts who love to socialize is streaming.
Beware of Barbenheimer
Right, the thing that scares Disney isn’t a ghost from Haunted Mansion. It’s the cultural phenomenon of Barbenheimer. The one-two punch of Barbie and Oppenheimer is once again expected to finish in the top two slots at the box office, leaving Haunted Mansion to settle for third place in its debut weekend. The fear is that those two films won’t leave much oxygen for anything else at the box office, which would leave Haunted Mansion and the rest in the dust.
