It’s safe to say the one word not to say around Disney executives right now is “Mars.”

 

For the second year in a row, the biggest film flop could be about the “red planet.” Disney has a candidate for 2012’s largest financial mistake in John Carter. The $250 million film, about a time-traveling Civil War soldier who winds up on Mars, is projected to lose the studio about $200 million, due to its poor showing at the theaters.

 

John Carter has joined the ranks of Hollywood’s most famous flops, such as The Adventures of Pluto Nash, which cost $120 million to make and market, but grossed only $7 million worldwide; the 1997 remake of Lolita, which cost $62 million and grossed $1.1 million; and Cutthroat Island, which cost $115 million and grossed just $18.5 million.

 

In 2011, Disney spent $175 million on the family flick Mars Needs Moms, but recouped only $39 million. No other film last year did so poorly.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Disney Says ‘John Carter’ To Lose $200 Million (by Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press)

Why Did Disney's 'John Carter' Flop? (by Dawn C. Chmielewski and Rebecca Keegan, Los Angeles Times)

15 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2011 (Go Into The Story)