After 'John Carter' fiasco, Disney film chief resigns - Polidicks

[QUOTE]NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The titular hero in the sci-fi epic "John Carter" slayed evil aliens, decimated enemy armies -- and now, he's killed Rich Ross' position as chairman at Walt Disney Studios. Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) released the movie "John Carter," based on a Martian adventure novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, to theaters on March 9. The studio placed a huge bet on the sci-fi extravaganza. Box Office Mojo estimates the movie cost $250 million to make, and the studio spent heavily to market it. [B]But box office sales were so weak that just 11 days later, on March 20, Disney made a dismal announcement: The company would lose $200 million on "John Carter" in its fiscal second quarter, which ended March 31. The debacle was enough to end the Disney film boss' run. On Friday -- exactly one month after the $200 million loss announcement -- Rich Ross resigned his post as chairman of Walt Disney Studios.[/B] "I believe in our strong slate of films and our ability to make and market them better than anyone else," Ross wrote in his resignation letter. "But, I no longer believe the Chairman role is the right professional fit for me." Ross had been at Disney for 15 years, and he signed onto the chairman role in late 2009. Disney did not name a successor in its announcement, but issued a short statement from CEO Bob Iger wishing Ross well. The "John Carter" flop was a sharp blow to the struggling film industry, which saw ticket sales dip to a 16-year low in 2011. But the rest of the 2012 slate looks more promising: widely anticipated titles include Disney's own "The Avengers" as well as "The Dark Knight Rises" from Warner Bros. (which is owned by CNNMoney parent company Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500)). Lionsgate (LGF) has already scored a massive hit this year with "The Hunger Games," which debuted in March, and the studio will release the final "Twilight" movie in November. [/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/20/news/companies/rich-ross-john-carter/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3[/url]

why the fuck was it so bad? john carter wasn't THAT bad

[QUOTE=Amplar;35656072]why the fuck was it so bad? john carter wasn't THAT bad[/QUOTE] It didn't produce enough money. Regardless of how good the film was, in the end, money is all that matters.

He's probably not going to want to hear the title 'John Carter' ever again for the rest of his life.

John Carter wasn't a bad movie, it's just that the story was way outdated and it had basically no target audience.

[QUOTE=butters757;35656104]John Carter wasn't a bad movie, it's just that the story was way outdated and it had basically no target audience.[/QUOTE] Yeah nothing stood out to me as "bad" watching previews but nothing made me want to go see it either.

It was a terrible outdated concept, then they tried to market it outside the US as if we know about some very American book written 120 years ago. Why would Australians know anything about it?

Horrible marketing is also the reason to why it did so poorly.

I couldn't even tell what it was about. It looked like a medieval gladiator movie, and then I saw the aliens, so it confused the fuck out of me. THEN I saw the character's name was John Carter, and I didn't have any idea at all what it was about. If people can't tell what a movie is supposed to be about, no one's going to pay money to watch it.

[QUOTE=TheFilmSlacker;35656207]They put WAY too much money into this movie. I mean, if you're going to put that much money into it (estimated around $300,000,000), at least make it a summer release. Don't release it in March. And even if you do, make damn sure that it's advertised well. "The Hunger Games" got a lot of PR before it was released. Look how well it's doing. Number 1 at the box office for 4 weeks in a row.[/QUOTE] It was originally set to be released on June 8th, but Disney moved it to March for reasons I don't remember.

I hadn't even heard of the film until after it was released and even then I didn't want to see it.

I liked the movie. I only went because my dad had heard good things, so he brought me along. I suppose it is true that the advertising for the movie was horrible. I probably wouldn't have seen it if not for my dad. Shame. I liked the movie a lot.

I keep thinking it said Rick Ross resigned. [IMG]http://www.catchmebc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rick-Ross-Money-Maker-500x281.jpg[/IMG] He'll always be the boss.

Sometimes I wonder how can a movie costs $250 million to make. Its not like they bought 250 supercars or anything.

[QUOTE=Amplar;35656072]why the fuck was it so bad? john carter wasn't THAT bad[/QUOTE] I think it was the advertising that got the movie such poor sales.

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I've never heard of this movie.

I hate how in this day and age people talk less about how a film was actually good or not and more about " OMG IT NO MAKE MONEY!!!" seriously i go to see a film about John Carter because i'm interested in John Carter, not how much money it will make, Disney is a very big company, it will make its money back one way or another, big deal.

Though John Carter was mediocre, really good movies can also flop, and that sucks. Like the Iron Giant. Amazing movie that did badly in the box office.

Looking at your comments, it looked like you guys can do better than that ex-chairman

[QUOTE=Complicated;35658681]Looking at your comments, it looked like you guys can do better than that ex-chairman[/QUOTE] They weren't saying that. Simply that a big contributing factor to the movie doing so badly had to do with poor advertising. I don't know what exactly he does but maybe that wasn't even his fault

The title must have contributed to the flop this movie was. I mean 'John Carter' That's it. that's not provocative at all.

If John Carter was released maybe 4 years ago it could've been something. It was good movie I liked it.

What was it even about? The trailer was gladiators and aliens or something.

[QUOTE=cyclocius;35658840]What was it even about? The trailer was gladiators and aliens or something.[/QUOTE] Brilliant. "Gladiators and aliens" Now there's a title that would've sold well.

It looked like "Planet Hulk" but with all the interesting bits chopped out.

Plot: civil war, guy gets teleported to mars after finding some amulet. Gets there, mars isn't as dense as earth so there's a weaker gravitational pull which makes him a semi-superman. There's a war going on at mars too, so he picks a side and fights in hopes of finding a way back to earth.

The film industry is struggling? whaaaaat

[QUOTE=Lambeth;35660182]The film industry is struggling? whaaaaat[/QUOTE] I haven't seen a movie in a very long time at the theaters. I've yet to hear of a film worth $12 and gum on my soles.

I rarely go to the movies, it has to be a very special movie to make me do it I think the only movies I'll go see this year will be Batman and the Hobbit.