Chris Pine and Hugh Jackman’s forgotten fantasy movie, Rise of the Guardians, has deservedly become a cult classic, despite its originally mixed reception and box office flop. Released in 2012 and directed by Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Rise of the Guardians is a DreamWorks movie based on the book series The Guardians of Childhood and short film The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. The animated movie follows a group of characters from childhood legends known as the “Guardians” as they enlist the help of Jack Frost to stop Pitch Black from sending the world into darkness.

Rise of the Guardians had a fantastic cast, including the likes of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, and Hugh Jackman playing the roles of Guardians Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost. Jude Law voiced the evil boogeyman, Pitch Black. With such a star-studded cast, it is surprising that Rise of the Guardians didn’t receive that much attention when it was first released in 2012. As a result, the animated movie has become one of DreamWorks best underrated movies, with Rise of the Guardians now achieving a somewhat cult classic status 13 years on.

Despite Drawing Over $300 Million At The Box Office, Rise Of The Guardians Wasn’t A Big Commercial Hit

The DreamWorks Movie Was Technically A Box Office Flop

According to The Numbers, 2012’s Rise of the Guardians movie earned $306.9 million at the box office worldwide on a production budget of $145 million. With the box office earnings being just over two times the total production budget, this should categorize the DreamWorks animated film as a commercial success. However, the studio reportedly lost $87 million due to the many challenges facing Rise of the Guardians. Therefore, despite having a previously established audience from Joyce’s book series and despite the movie performing fairly well at the box office, Rise of the Guardians was not a big commercial hit.

In fact, Rise of the Guardians actually sits quite far down on The Numbers’ list of DreamWorks Animation’s most commercially successful movies. Shrek 2 holds the top spot for the highest-grossing DreamWorks movie at the box office with a $933.8 million box office gross, despite being released in 2004. This was quickly followed by the third and fourth Shrek films, which earned $807.3 million and $756.2 million respectively, the Kung Fu Panda films and How To Train Your Dragon. In contrast, Rise of the Guardians ranks 28th on the list, sitting just above 2007’s controversial Bee Movie.

Why Rise Of The Guardians Wasn’t More Successful In 2012

Rise Of The Guardians Faced Stiff Animated Compeтιтion

There were many reasons why Rise of the Guardians was not a commercial hit in 2012, but one of the main ones is to do with the movie’s concept. Marketing for Rise of the Guardians was difficult due to the film’s unique themes, as the darker elements made the film’s target audience somewhat mixed. Furthermore, Rise of the Guardians’ high production costs put pressure on the movie to perform well, especially as it was released during the holiday season to fit with the movie’s concepts. As a result, the studio lost $87 million due to marketing and distribution costs.

However, Rise of the Guardians’ commercial failure was also due to the slew of other films that released that year. According to data from Box Office Mojo, there were four films which earned $1 billion at the box office in 2012 – The Avengers, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – which were all part of a larger IP. The same can be said for animation, as Ice Age: Continental Drift and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted took the top spots for highest-grossing animated movies in 2012, and the year was packed full of fantastic animation.

In November alone, the month that Rise of the Guardians debuted, the film was competing with James Bond and Twilight, franchises that were celebrating important milestones, with Skyfall marking the first Bond movie’s 50th anniversary and Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 concluding its Saga. Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph also released in the same month, and the larger studio claimed a higher box office result too. Therefore, Rise of the Guardians had no real chance against such compeтιтion, especially as its generic name had people confused with a similar yet unrelated movie called Legend of the Guardians released two years earlier.

Rise Of The Guardians Deserves To Be Considered A Cult Classic Today

The Animated Movie Is Perfect For The Holidays

13 years since its release, Rise of the Guardians deserves to be considered a cult classic today, despite its failings. With a certified Fresh rating of a 75% Tomatometer and an 80% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes, it is clear that Rise of the Guardians is a well-liked film which has risen above its initial box office flop. The animated movie is very charming, and its darker elements set it apart from other films of its kind, and its themes make it a perfect holiday movie to revisit every year, especially as a Rise of the Guardians sequel never happened.

In fact, DreamWorks’ underrated animation has never been more popular over a decade on, as Rise of the Guardians achieved global streaming success on Netflix in early 2025. The movie had 5.4 million views with 9 million hours viewed, ranking number 3 on Netflix’s Global Top 10. This is a brilliant success for Rise of the Guardians considering how long it has been since its initial debut, with no further movie additions to the franchise, and this Netflix success clearly demonstrates audiences have a real love for the movie if they are still revisiting Rise of the Guardians today.

Rise Of The Guardians Was Ahead Of Its Time As An Animated Movie

The 2012 Film’s Complex Themes Would Resonate More Now

Some regard Rise of the Guardians as an animated movie which was way ahead of its time for a lot of reasons. The film’s unique blend of childhood fantasy with darker and more complex themes was somewhat off-putting in 2012, when animated movies were typically praised for their simplistic approach and fun appeal. However, nowadays, movies like Inside Out are exploring deeper thematic storylines, and have seen mᴀssive commercial success as a result. Therefore, Rise of the Guardians is somewhat ahead of its time for doing something risky at the time, yet has become commonplace for animated movies today.

The emotional depth of the characters in Rise of the Guardians originally confused the studio as to who the target audience was. However, this approach would’ve been perfect years later, as animated movies are now geared more towards adults as well as children, due to the decreasing stigma of cartoons being seen as “childish.” Therefore, it is a shame Rise of the Guardians suffered at 2012’s box office, especially as it has certainly earned its cult classic movie status. That being said, DreamWorks could always revisit the movie in a possible future remake, revitalizing and modernizing this underrated animated film.

Sources: The Numbers, Box Office Mojo