It may have only been in cinemas for two weeks but Disney have already admitted box office defeat for their sci-fi blockbuster JOHN CARTER. The fantasy epic — starring little known Taylor Kitsch — garnered $30 million in its opening weekend and just $13 million in its second week. With the release of inevitable hit THE HUNGER GAMES on the horizon, Disney has released a statement regarding the films failure.
In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter ($184 million global box office), we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31. As a result, our current expectation is that the Studio segment will have an operating loss of between $80 and $120 million for the second quarter. As we look forward to the second half of the year, we are excited about the upcoming releases of The Avengers and Brave, which we believe have tremendous potential to drive value for the Studio and the rest of the company.
Mixed reviews and underwhelming advertising are thought to result in the poor box office takings. JOHN CARTER star Dominic West has even recently announced that he found the film ‘hard to follow’.
‘I didn’t realise it was such a flop,’ said West. ‘I thought it went badly in America and did OK in the rest of the world.’
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that nobody on Earth wants to see John Carter of Mars any time soon. Especially Disney.
