Walt Disney Co has officially identified its
recent movie, John Carter, as one of the biggest cinematic flops
ever.
The US entertainment conglomerate said late Monday that the film
about a US civil war hero's adventures on Mars, would lead to a
$200-million loss for the company.
The film, directed by Andrew Stanton, cost an estimated $350 million to make and market, according to the Los Angeles
Times. It was the first live action movie for the director, whose
previous work on animated films at Pixar yielded a string of box office hits such Finding Nemo and WALL-E.
Disney had hoped that the 3D-effects-laden film would spawn a
franchise and theme park attraction. But audiences were uninspired with the tale, and gross box office receipts around the world reached $184 million, which the studio splits with theater owners.
The film was the second Mars-based movie to lose massive amounts of money for Disney after Mars Needs Moms lost more than $100 million in 2011.
"In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31," Disney said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Disney, however, expressed confidence that Marvel's latest superhero adventure, The Avengers, and Pixar Animation Studios' forthcoming original film, Brave, would help wipe out the disappointment.
"We believe (these) have tremendous potential to drive value for the studio and the rest of the company," Disney said in its statement.
