WILL FOREIGN AUDIENCES BAIL OUT JOHN CARTER? (Updated)

Disney executives are no doubt hoping that overseas audiences may come to the rescue of John Carter, which has suffered an unmitigated disaster at the box office domestically. The movie grossed an estimated $40.7 million in 54 countries over the weekend to bring its foreign gross to $126.1 million. By contrast, the film took in just $13.5 million in North America, bringing its 10-day total to $53.2 million and its worldwide gross to $179.4 million. Nevertheless, the film is believed to have cost $250-300 million to produce and market, meaning, say analysts, that it would have to earn nearly $700 million just to break even after splitting its gross revenue with theaters and paying other distribution and marketing costs. Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax placed a distant second on the foreign chart over the weekend with $11.6 million in 16 countries. Twentieth Century Fox’s This Means War placed third with $9.15 million in 58 countries.

Update:
Disney said today that given the current worldwide revenue for John Carter, the film will likely generate an operating loss of about $200 million for the company’s second quarter which ends on March 31. As a result, it said, it expects the studio division will post an operating loss of $80-120 million for the quarter.