John Carter shaping up to be one of the costliest flops in movie history

[Bruce Banner]

It's good that the film is encouraging people to check out ERB's original John Carter stories.


Now all we need is a new Tarzan movie that stays true to the essence of his stories.
Handled seriously and done right, that could be amazing.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Now all we need is a new Tarzan movie that stays true to the essence of his stories.
Handled seriously and done right, that could be amazing.

Unfortunately, Hollywood thinking will probably put any Tarzan project on hold until the Burroughs name gets the stink of this failure off of it. Just look what Green Lantern's tepid box office did to other DC movies. We've heard nothing of Wonder Woman or Flash since GL failed to meet expectations.

Chris

[johnnystorm]

^^^I would think that's the other way around. I see how it was an expensive film by the SPFX, the elaborate sets plus it was shot in America for the desert scenes.

As far as promotion-I've hardly seen any. Disney owns ABC TV network. How come they didn't have lots of TV spots and couldn't do a Making of...TV special to generate interest? I know a lot of the Sci-Fi mags have tanked in recent years so advance interviews are harder to find. I don't recall seeing Disney's own Mag "Twenty Three" having promotion on the film, (unless I missed it).

That's one thing that Disney DOES NOT understand how to do anymore. They just throw money into advertising, maybe a few second spot on Disney Channel between episodes of Waverly Place. Walt Disney himself knew how to market a film. There would have been a 'making of' special on the Disney show, Carter would have guest-starred on some of the ABC & Disney Shows, a float in the holiday Disney parades, the Disney casts would have mentioned going to see it or been wearing a JC shirt in the episode. Believe me, if Selena Gomez or the Victorious cast said go see John Carter, my 10 year old would have pested the heck out of me to get there. Disney itself is powerful enough they could have controlled or dominated the press, eliminating a lot of the negative stuff.
Almost as if they wanted it to fail...I would almost believe Disney made this because they had the rights & needed to use them. They bought it intending to do an animated film like Tarzan, but there was no way Carter would lend itself to that sort of vehicle.
As mentioned, Disney has attempted and threw away a number of opportunities in recent years to develop another Pirates type franchise. Haunted Mansion, Prince of Persia, Sorceror's Apprentice, now John Carter.
They need to go back & look at how Walt did things.

[BlackKnight]

Entertainment Weekly had some coverage on this Movie being compaired to the Top 10 Worse Bomb Movies. And Green Lantern wasn't 1 of them.

[torgospizza]

Now all we need is a new Tarzan movie that stays true to the essence of his stories.
Handled seriously and done right, that could be amazing.

You couldn't be more right. And as great as the mangani were in Greystoke, seeing how the apes were handled in Rise of the Planet of the Apes really makes me think they could pull off some great stuff. I don't know that they should strictly adapt Tarzan of the Apes, though. It's been done quite a bit, so I think if they mixed in a few of the stories from Jungle Tales of Tarzan it could freshen it up. For a sequel, I'd kind of grab bits from Tarzan the Untamed leading up to Tarzan searching for Jane and wrap it up with parts from Tarzan the Terrible, which would take him to Pal-ul-don. I think kids especially would love that. Drop Korak altogether, and maybe work him in later on in another film.

I know that's a weird way to put it together, but in today's political climate, it's best to just avoid some of the earlier stories due to a lot of stuff that doesn't really flatter Arabs. The Big Bwana stuff with the Waziri wouldn't help matters, either.

[MIB41]

Entertainment Weekly had some coverage on this Movie being compaired to the Top 10 Worse Bomb Movies. And Green Lantern wasn't 1 of them.

I somehow feel vindicated.

[Brazoo]

Time Magazine recently listed these as the top biggest box office bombs - but notes that John Carter will probably take the highest spot:

1) Cutthroat Island
2) The Alamo
3) The Adventures of Pluto Nash
4) Sahara
5) Mars Needs Women
6) The 13th Warrior
7) Town & Country
8) Speed Racer
9) Heaven's Gate
10) Stealth

The All-Time Biggest Box Office Duds | Box Office: The Top Ten Biggest Money-Losing Movies of All Time | Business | TIME.com

[Earth 2 Chris]

GL made some money and moved some merchandise. It under-performed but it didn't bomb.

Speed Racer...how could I have forgotten that flop? Man, there is still merchandise from that thing rotting on shelves.

Chris

[Brazoo]

On a side note, according to this Hollywood Reporter article Green Lantern wasn't even the lowest money earning movie of 2011:

1) Mars Needs Moms
2) Sucker Punch
3) Arthur
4) Green Lantern
5) Cowboys & Aliens
6) Glee: The 3D Concert Movie
7) Conan the Barbarian
8) I don't Know How She Does It
9) The Thing
10) The Big Year

15 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2011: THR Year In Review Gallery - The Hollywood Reporter

Of course these are just based on reported costs against box office returns. Sometimes movies make money in the long run from DVD, rentals, TV...

[Earth 2 Chris]

Mars Needs Moms was a Disney flick. Maybe they should just leave the Red Planet alone.

Chris

[Brazoo]

It's crazy to me - people don't like motion capture movies AND they don't make money. WHY DON'T THEY GIVE UP?!!

[torgospizza]

It's crazy to me - people don't like motion capture movies AND they don't make money. WHY DON'T THEY GIVE UP?!!

The Lord of the Rings movies and Rise of the Planet of the Apes all did well. Maybe people just like Andy Serkis?

[Brazoo]

The Lord of the Rings movies and Rise of the Planet of the Apes all did well. Maybe people just like Andy Serkis?

Sorry - I was being really REALLY unclear!

I was referring to "Mars Needs Women" and other pure animated movies that use motion capture.

People love motion capture mixed with live action - but on it's own every movie they make with this technique seems to flop or underperform. People don't respond to it well either - it actually looks creepy to a lot of people: Uncanny valley

BUT they keep trying to make movies this way. Even hit movies like The Adventures of Tin Tin underperform - I think, because of the motion capture technique.

Personally - I hate it because I feel like it's animation for people who hate animation.

For live action movie effects - it's great though.

[jwyblejr]

It's crazy to me - people don't like motion capture movies AND they don't make money. WHY DON'T THEY GIVE UP?!!

I'm guessing because they think people want more stuff like The Polar Express and Disney's version of A Christmas Carol.

[Brazoo]

To compare - here's images from Berkeley Breathed's original kids book "Mars Needs Moms":





It's full of motion and silliness...

Then here's what Disney did to it using motion capture:





Creepy, lifeless and humorless - and it lost a TON of money.

I think I understand the reason. I don't think it's cost, the movie still cost $150 million. It's about turn around time. It's about cranking out movies. I think sometimes people can tell the difference - and people just aren't buying these films so far.

Maybe they think if they keep pushing that people will come around.