TAYLOR KITSCH MOVIE ‘JOHN CARTER’ EXPECTED TO LOSE $200 MILLION FOR DISNEY

The Walt Disney Co. has said in a statement that the mega-budget science-fiction movie “John Carter” is expected to lose $200 million, making it one of cinema history’s biggest box office disasters.

The film, about a Civil War veteran transported to Mars, could result an overall operating loss of $80 million to $120 million for Disney’s movie business in the fiscal second quarter that ends March 31.

Disney shares fell about 1% in after-hours trading after the announcement.

The movie starring Taylor Kitsch and Willem Dafoe, cost an estimated production budget of $250 million and the company spent $100 million on marketing.

The film has generated $184 million in ticket sales worldwide so far.

“In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter ($184 million global box office), we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31,” the company said in a statement. “As a result, our current expectation is that the studio segment will have an operating loss of between $80 and $120 million for the second quarter,” Disney said in a statement.

Even critics have projected that “John Carter” will be a flop when it was released earlier this month.

The review website Rotten Tomatoes said: “While John Carter looks terrific and delivers its share of pulpy thrills, it also suffers from uneven pacing and occasionally incomprehensible plotting and characterization.”

Disney hopes their fate will change with upcoming big-budget movies this year which include “The Avengers” and Pixar’s “Brave.”

“As we look forward to the second half of the year, we are excited about the upcoming releases of ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Brave,’ which we believe have tremendous potential to drive value for the Studio and the rest of the company,” Disney said.