... And we hated Jar-Jar anyways, so it failed.
In some sense, Lucas was right about him "being the key to all this, because he is a funnier character than the others..." shows the misguided focus of the whole film. And ironically, every blockbuster since TPM has been focused on hype that doesn't deliver, lack of focus, and making money anyways due to its vague connection to original source material. He changed Hollywood again just as he did with the first Star Wars film.