# The Haunted Mansion (2003 film)
**The Haunted Mansion** is a 2003 American supernatural comedy film directed by [Rob Minkoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-minkoff), written by David Berenbaum, and starring [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy) as a real estate agent whose family becomes trapped in a haunted Louisiana mansion. It was produced by [Walt Disney Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-pictures) and based on the Disney theme park attraction of the same name.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/haunted-mansion-the-film/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 26, 2003, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) |
| Director / writer | Rob Minkoff; screenplay by David Berenbaum[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) |
| Producers | Don Hahn and Andrew Gunn[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) |
| Lead cast | Eddie Murphy (Jim Evers), Terence Stamp (Ramsley), Nathaniel Parker (Master Gracey), Marsha Thomason (Sara Evers), Jennifer Tilly (Madame Leota)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) |
| Source | Based on the Walt Disney "Haunted Mansion" theme park attraction[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) |
| Box office | $75.8 million gross in the United States[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion) |
| Critical reception | 14% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (139 reviews); Metascore 34 on Metacritic[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-haunted-mansion/critic-reviews/) |
| Rating / genre | PG; comedy, fantasy, family[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) is a workaholic real estate agent whose wife and business partner, Sara ([Marsha Thomason](https://www.edgepedia.org/marsha-thomason)), accuses him of neglecting their son Michael ([Marc John Jefferies](https://www.edgepedia.org/marc-john-jefferies)) and daughter Megan (Aree Davis). Jim gets a call from the owner of Gracey Manor, a large, creepy house on a remote Louisiana bayou, who wants to sell; sensing the biggest deal of his career, he detours the family vacation to visit the property.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/haunted-mansion-the-film/)
A torrential thunderstorm strands the family at the mansion, where they find they are not alone: 999 grim, grinning ghosts come out to socialize, along with Master Gracey ([Nathaniel Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/nathaniel-parker)) and his stern butler Ramsley ([Terence Stamp](https://www.edgepedia.org/terence-stamp)). With the help of the supernatural psychic Madame Leota ([Jennifer Tilly](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-tilly)), Jim must break the mansion's age-old curse, whose happy haunts will not leave until their unfinished business is completed, and in the process discover that his family needs him.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/haunted-mansion-the-film/) • [5](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-36dd0a60-fe80-4978-9789-ce8d5d9c5646)
## Production
Producer Don Hahn recalled that Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook called him in and asked whether he knew Rob Minkoff well; Hahn and Minkoff had worked together on *The Lion King*, and after a lunch with the script the director, the producer, and Eddie Murphy all wanted to make the film, moving into pre-production right away.[6](https://d23.com/this-day/the-haunted-mansion-premieres/) The credited crew included cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, production designer John Myhre, editors Priscilla Nedd Friendly and Gregg London, and composer [Mark Mancina](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-mancina).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756)
The production deliberately wove references to the theme park attraction into the film. The most prominent nod was the famous singing busts performing "Grim Grinning Ghosts," the attraction's signature song; the real singers who provide the voices on the [Disneyland](https://www.edgepedia.org/disneyland) ride performed the parts in the movie.[6](https://d23.com/this-day/the-haunted-mansion-premieres/) Because the house was central to the film, the producers and Minkoff assembled a small art-department team unusually early in pre-production to visualize it, and the design had to reconcile differing versions of the ride: some crew members knew the Disneyland mansion, while others had grown up seeing the [Walt Disney World](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney-world) version, an English Tudor.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-09-ca-rightmyhre9-story.html) After filming, parts of the sets were given a second life rather than discarded.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-24-et-weekmovies24-story.html)
## Reception
The film opened in Los Angeles and New York the week of November 26, 2003.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756) It arrived in the same year as Disney's *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, based on another theme park attraction, which grossed more than $300 million in North America; *The Haunted Mansion* earned $75.8 million in the United States.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-24-et-weekmovies24-story.html) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion)
Critics were largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 19 fresh and 120 rotten reviews among 139 counted, a 14% Tomatometer, with the critics consensus calling the film "neither scary nor funny" and "as lifeless as the ghosts in the movie"; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 32% from more than 100,000 ratings.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 34, generally unfavorable, from 34 critic reviews.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-haunted-mansion/critic-reviews/) Roger Ebert, the film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times* and winner of the 1975 [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize) for criticism, gave the film two stars, writing that it had more ambition and an actual, resolved plot than he expected from a ride adaptation, but that Murphy was underused as the straight man while Terence Stamp, whom he compared to the actors of Hammer horror films, stole the movie; he thought it might be fun for kids but would not much entertain older family members.[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-haunted-mansion-2003) Some reviewers were warmer: the *Los Angeles Times* called it "a fright show artfully designed for the whole family," while the *Village Voice* found it nearly laughless.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-haunted-mansion/critic-reviews/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion)
## Legacy
The film was the first feature adaptation of the Haunted Mansion attraction, and Disney returned to the property twice afterward: *Muppets Haunted Mansion* in 2021 and a new live-action *Haunted Mansion* directed by [Justin Simien](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-simien) in 2023.[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/haunted-mansion-movie-review-2023) The 2023 film is not a sequel to the 2003 movie, though it repeats some names and gags from it.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2023/07/25/haunted-mansion-movie-review/) Retrospective commentary has often compared the two: some critics judged the 2003 film's pacing superior, while others found the 2023 version more faithful to the ride's elements.[12](https://www.avclub.com/a-review-of-disneys-haunted-mansion-1850673119) • [13](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-haunted-mansion-2023) The 2003 film remains available on Disney+ and for digital purchase or rental.[14](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-haunted-mansion)
## References
1. [The Haunted Mansion (2003), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/62756)
2. [Haunted Mansion, The (film), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/haunted-mansion-the-film/)
3. [The Haunted Mansion, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunted_mansion)
4. [The Haunted Mansion critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-haunted-mansion/critic-reviews/)
5. [The Haunted Mansion, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-36dd0a60-fe80-4978-9789-ce8d5d9c5646)
6. [The Haunted Mansion Premieres, D23](https://d23.com/this-day/the-haunted-mansion-premieres/)
7. [This old haunt redone, Los Angeles Times (November 9, 2003)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-09-ca-rightmyhre9-story.html)
8. ['Haunted Mansion' sets get a 2nd life, Los Angeles Times (November 24, 2003)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-24-et-weekmovies24-story.html)
9. [The Haunted Mansion movie review, RogerEbert.com (November 26, 2003)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-haunted-mansion-2003)
10. [Haunted Mansion movie review (2023), RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/haunted-mansion-movie-review-2023)
11. ['Haunted Mansion' review, The Washington Post (July 25, 2023)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2023/07/25/haunted-mansion-movie-review/)
12. [Haunted Mansion review, The A.V. Club (2023)](https://www.avclub.com/a-review-of-disneys-haunted-mansion-1850673119)
13. [The Haunted Mansion review, Time Out (2023)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-haunted-mansion-2023)
14. [The Haunted Mansion streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-haunted-mansion)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Supernatural horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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