John Carter Disappoints at Box Office

POSTED: Mon, 04/02/2012 - 05:05 | POSTED BY: Melissa W.

For the time being, Disney may just have to stay away from any movies mentioning the word Mars. After a disappointing opening weekend of only $30.2 million, Disney's John Carter stands to lose Disney $200 million.

John Carter Movie Poster

Despite making $184 million worldwide and a B+ rating from CinemaScores, this hybrid film of action-adventure, science fiction and romance hasn't gotten US audiences in the theater.

Before Disney's John Carter was even released, there were reports that Director Andrew Stanton and Screenwriter Michael Chabon were writing a sequel possibly titled John Carter: The Gods of Mars. We can guess that a sequel won't be going forward in light of the statement that Disney recently released:

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," Disney said in a statement. "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.

In order to break even on John Carter, the film would have to make $600 million, since the studio splits profits with theater owners. Sadly, that doesn't look like that will happen. John Carter will join other box-office disappointments such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Mars Needs Moms.

Disney was quick to mention two highly anticipated films, The Avengers and Brave saying, "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."

Why do you think John Carter did so badly at the box office? Was it advertising or something audiences just weren't interested in? Leave a Comment and let us know what you think!

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Mase wrote on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 12:48:

I don't think it was advertising that killed it. I think it was more of the unknown about it. Out of all the commercials I saw of it, I had no idea what it was about at all. I didn't read the books, and I know because of John Carter we wouldn't have Star Wars or Star Trek.... but I think they focused too much of visual effects... trying to get an Avatar kind of look, when they probably should have hired a more known actor for the lead role.

I honestly think John Carter will earn its money back. Bluray sales have been booming this past year, and especially the way Disney does them. So I think it will earn its money, and Disney even said if John Carter did underperform they would still proceed with a sequel. They will just get smarter with it and not have such a big budget for it.

LeeAnn wrote on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 12:56:

My family went to see the movie and loved it. We tried to tell everyone we know -- obviously that had little effect. :) We also loved Prince of Persia! Would love to see sequels to both, but doubt Disney will spend money on two "losing" franchises.

Lana wrote on Mon, 04/02/2012 - 15:12:

I loved the movie! Most of the trailers managed to make a really cool movie look boring! It wasn't until the last trailer that the movie looked interesting. I will definitely be picking this one up on Blu-Ray. If you're curious about seeing this one I'd highly recommend it! I'm not big on the 3D stuff, but the effects were pretty cool in this one! Disney definitely does 3D better than most!

Patrick wrote on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 02:57:

The name "John Carter" is a common name with no connections to it so the name didn't inspire. Probably would have been better to call it "Barsoom" (name of planet by natives). But now that its out and has good publicity for losing money more people know of it so that should there be a sequel it won't need as much marketing. Also, some of the fan trailers are much more appealing than the ones put out by Disney. Keep in mind the $200 million was a write-off for the 2nd quarter to lower taxes. Disney will report a profit for the 3rd quarter for all the money coming in now which will offset the $200 million considerably.

Ironicially Yahoo users give it the same rating as Hunger Games so go see it if you haven't!

Kristen K. wrote on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 12:13:

I agree Patrick, people I know who have seen it absolutely loved it. I think it was simply a huge failure in the marketing.

Dee Montgomery wrote on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 20:15:

I loved the movie, I have two sons and they wanted to see it,so I went not expecting much but I actually loved it!!!
If you haven't seen it go. I will be getting it on blue ray when it comes out!!

Kristen K. wrote on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 11:54:

So glad to hear that it was a great surprise Dee!

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