The Cat In The Hat Is Another Box Office Flop Warner Bros. Can't Afford

Warner Bros.

Another weekend, another bad result for Warner Bros. "The Cat in the Hat" looked like it could help get Warner Bros. back on track at the box office. Instead? It became the latest in a string of flops that has defined the studio's year. Family-friendly movies have been very safe bets in recent years, and on paper, Dr. Seuss is very good intellectual property to exploit for a PG animated movie. But this didn't pan out as anyone had hoped.

Director Erica Rivinoja's "The Cat in the Hat" opened to a very disappointing $20 million domestically. It also pulled in just $10 million internationally, giving it a soft $30 million global start. That was only good enough for the number two spot, since "Godzilla Minus Zero" ruled the box office with a $30.5 million opening. Normally, it would be much safer to bet on the PG family movie over the R-rated Japanese monster movie. But this wasn't a normal situation, and instead, the animated movie was left fighting for scraps, relatively speaking.

The new movie sees the title character (voiced by "SNL" alum Bill Hader) take on his toughest assignment yet for the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC): to cheer up Gabby and Sebastian, a pair of siblings struggling with their move to a new town. It carries a reported budget in the $90 million range.

This major disappointment comes mere weeks after the Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merger was made official, with the mega-corporation Skydance now ruling over both studios. That corporation is lousy with debt and it needs Warner Bros. to deliver. Unfortunately for CEO David Ellison and his new film chiefs, they're walking into a messy situation. They've got a ship to right.

Warner Bros.

The storied movie studio had a stellar year in 2025, with massive hits like "Sinners" and "F1" to its name. Warner Bros. set a huge record that year with six movies in a row opening to at least $40 million, but 2026 has not been nearly as kind.

Skydance inherited a string of massive flops from the Warner Bros. deal, with its 2027 slate also looking a bit uneven. Things could get worse before they get better, as evidenced by the performance of "The Cat in the Hat." Granted, the year should end on a high note as "Dune: Part 3" is just around the corner, but even that can't make up for everything that preceded it.

A very rough rule of thumb for theatrical success has always been a movie making 2.5 times its budget, given that theaters keep around half of all money from ticket sales. So just how bad has the year been for Warner Bros? The studio's bombs/disappointments include "The Bride!" ($90 million budget / $24 million worldwide haul), "They Will Kill You" ($10 million budget / $19 million worldwide), "Mortal Kombat II" ($80 million budget / $129 million worldwide), "Supergirl" ($170 million budget / $126 million worldwide), "The End of Oak Street" ($90 million budget / $121 million worldwide), "Practical Magic 2" ($75 million budget / $106 million worldwide), and "Digger" ($180 million budget / $50 million worldwide).

Yikes. Tom Cruise's "Digger" alone will lose as much as $250 million. Hits like "Wuthering Heights" and "Clayface," encouraging though they may be, can't come close to making up for losses that pile up for would-be blockbusters like "Supergirl." Unfortunately, this Dr. Seuss adaptation now joins this ever-growing list of crushing disappointments. Skydance and the new team has their work cut out for them.

"The Cat in the Hat" is in theaters now.