I hate to lay it on a movie, but this is just terrible. John Carter, which was made with a budget of $250 million only brought in a meek $30 million. Oh, and it should be noted that the total is inflated because of 3D ticket sales.

However, the film has earned $70 million overseas so there’s a chance that it could break even. Though with the amount of money Disney pumped into marketing the film across the world it would take quite an effort to pull any money from this.

I know, I know. $30 million doesn’t sound like a terrible number. It’s not for any normal-budgeted movie. But a movie that cost $250 million? And one that had terrible advertising and turned people off? Unless it’s Titanic or The Dark Knight Rises it isn’t going to generate the word of mouth to keep people coming to the theater week after week. John Carter doesn’t have the quality to keep money coming in.

It could, however, replenish some of the loss in the DVD market. The film isn’t super terrible and could find new life as a $1 rental. Hell, I’m sure Starz and other cable companies would pay a premium to get John Carter shown.

Let’s just hope Disney learns from this mess. You never want to see a film bomb. It hurts the industry and most of all the filmmakers that work on the film. [Box Office Mojo]

box office, john carter