“John Carter”: Disney’s $250M gamble
For those of you who have been reading the Katzenberg memo posts — Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 — it’s frankly shocking that of all the studios to bankroll a rumored $250M movie like John Carter it would be Disney.
For those who haven’t been tracking the movie, here is some background from TheWrap:
The exit of Disney marketing president MT Carney on Monday creates yet more drama around “John Carter,” the $250 million sci-fi epic that may be the biggest studio gamble since “Avatar.”
The film doesn’t hit theaters until March, but reports are rampant that “John Carter” has gone over budget and required costly reshoots.
A lackluster early trailer didn’t help the buzz and now, without a marketing executive to lead the global rollout, the pressure on “John Carter” is more intense than ever.
“It doesn’t just have to open big — it has to be one of the top grossing films of all time,” a rival studio executive told TheWrap.
A film of this size and scope typically requires a marketing budget of roughly $120 million, adding to the price tag.
All eyes are on Disney to see if the studio can turn the lead character from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ once beloved, now largely forgotten 11-volume Mars series into a $700 million blockbuster. Its director, Andrew Stanton, admitted to the New Yorker in October, that it will have to gross that much worldwide to justify a sequel.
$700M in gross box office. Imagine having that number hanging over your head every night as you try to go to sleep. Every movie is a gamble. But a film like John Carter? What’s the superlative form of ‘gamble’? Gambliest?
Here is one trailer for the movie:
Here is another trailer introduced by writer-director Andrew Stanton:
What do you think? Does it have a chance to hit $700M?
Just to put things into perspective, do you remember people saying Avatar would be a flop?
Is Avatar destined to flop? [Slate]
Will Avatar be most expensive flop ever? [Daily Mirror]
Will ‘Avatar’ be a megaflop? [Atlantic]
Look for headlines like that re John Carter as its March release nears. Hopefully it will be a hit.
For the rest of TheWrap article, go here.
For a Hero Complex feature on the film, go here.
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