'John Carter' Loss Tops $200 Million, Says Disney
Though it was pegged as the next great action-adventure film, "John Carter" is expected to lose $200 million for Disney even though the movie has only been out for a matter of weeks.
Disney explained that it will have to absorb the significant operating cost in its second fiscal quarter for a movie that was about a Civil War veteran transported to Mars.
"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 in a statement.
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"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."
The movie reportedly costs $250 million to make. When it was released, the film was met with hostility from many critics for being "confusing" and "dull."
The movie was thought of as the next big blockbuster given director Andrew Stanton was at the helm. Staton won Oscars for his previous work including "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E."
Before Monday's announcement, analysts polled by FactSet expected Disney as a whole to post $1.92 billion in operating income for the quarter.
Analyst explained that much of the company's profits come from its television channels, such as ESPN and ABC. But the company will not have to worry about shutting its doors because Disney is expected to post $9.62 billion in revenue.
Not to be discouraged by one movie's poor performance, Disney is looking ahead to upcoming projects including "The Avengers" and "Brave."
"As we look forward to the second half of the year, we are excited about ... 'The Avengers' and 'Brave,' which we believe have tremendous potential to drive value for the Studio and the rest of the company," according to the statement.
