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John Carter: Disney's $263M Mars epic that lost $200M
Disney's $263M adaptation of a century-old novel grossed $284M worldwide, forcing a $200M writedown and the largest box-office loss of its era.
Walt Disney Studios · Pixar · 2012-03-09
What happened
John Carter was Disney's most expensive live-action attempt to launch a new franchise, an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' century-old novel A Princess of Mars. Pixar director Andrew Stanton, untested in live action, was given a budget that ballooned to a net $263.7 million (a gross $306.6 million).
The film underperformed from its opening weekend and grossed $284 million worldwide against a total production and marketing cost of roughly $350 million. Disney reported a $200 million writedown, ranking it among the biggest box-office busts of all time.
It holds the record for the largest estimated box-office loss adjusted for inflation, and the planned trilogy was cancelled. The failure pushed Disney toward fewer, safer franchise bets built on proven audiences.
Why it happened
- A $263M tentpole was launched from a source no modern audience knew, betting a century-old novel and fresh IP could beat established franchises.
- Repeated reshoots from a live-action-novice director pushed the real bill to about $350M, so the $284M gross still produced a $200M writedown.
- Disney staked the movie's future on an unproven property rather than a tested audience, and the loss killed the trilogy and a large slice of studio profit.
The lesson
Disney spent $263M launching a franchise from a century-old novel nobody knew, took a $200M writedown on a $284M gross — the largest inflation-adjusted loss ever. Big budgets need a proven audience.
Sources
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