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Disney Could Lose $140 Million on 'Tomorrowland' Flop


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If ever there was a studio that could withstand a serious stumble, it's Disney, home of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. And stumble it has withTomorrowland, the Brad Bird-directed fantasy adventure. Sources say the film will lose $120 million to $140 million by the time it finishes its global rollout, becoming Disney's first major financial misfire since The Lone Ranger prompted a $190 mil­lion write-down two summers ago.

It's also the third big-budget original tentpole of 2015 to bomb after Jupiter Ascending andSeventh Son, highlighting the risky nature of nine-figure filmmaking at a time when relatively lower-budget hits such as Spy and Pitch Perfect 2 are causing studios to look closely at the costs of creating franchises.

Tomorrowland, which cost $180 million to produce plus a marketing spend of $150 million or more, had everything going for it: a hot filmmaker in Bird, 57 (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), and a global star in George Clooney, 54. But it debuted to weak reviews (was it for kids or adults?) and a soft $42.7 million during the long Memorial Day weekend. As of June 8, the film had earned $76.4 million domestically and $93.5 million overseas for a global total of $169.9 million. It might not gross much more than $200 million, far from enough to cover Disney's costs.

China, ravenous for American event movies, has been a particularly harsh blow. Tomorrowlandbowed to $13.8 million there in early June, getting trounced by the $38.3 million opening of the Japanese animated title Stand by Me Doraemon.

"Yes, they took a miss with Tomorrowland, but there are so many things working for Disney," says analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners, noting that Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has earned nearly $1.35 billion worldwide since May. "And coming up, there's Inside Out (June 19),Ant-Man (July 17) and Star Wars (Dec. 18). Disney will do just fine this year."

That's why Tomorrowland hasn't stirred media or shareholder uproar as did Lone Ranger andJohn Carter ($200 million write-down). (Disney stock hasn't budged.) But it has raised the issue of whether studios will spend at this level on original tentpoles. Even the hit San Andreas, which Warner Bros. has marketed as an event pic, cost "only" $110 million.

"There's a reason you're seeing more sequels, prequels and known properties because you never know how films like Tomorrowland or Jupiter Ascending are going to turn out," says Handler. Jupiter was a pricey miss for Warners, Village Roadshow and other partners who paid nearly $180 million to make the sci-fi fantasy, which topped out at $181.9 million worldwide and lost about $120 million all-in.

Despite the flop, few fault Disney for taking a chance on a director like Bird. Says a rival executive, "When a guy like that comes to you with an original idea, and Clooney is part of the package, you'll take the swing."

Edited by Heretic121
Removing that crappy colouring xD
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Nothing new, since as far I know 70% of the movies released under Hollywood aren't making any profit. Even big movies like The Lord of the Rings.

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Nothing new, since as far I know 70% of the movies released under Hollywood aren't making any profit. Even big movies like The Lord of the Rings.

Dec 19, 2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Production Budget $109,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $47,211,490 Domestic Box Office $315,544,750 Total $887,217,688

 

Dec 18, 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Production Budget $94,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $62,007,528 Domestic Box Office $342,548,992 Total $927,048,992

 

Dec 17, 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Production Budget $94,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $72,629,713 Domestic Box Office $377,845,920 Total $1,141,408,682

 

Dec 14, 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $84,617,303 Domestic Box Office $303,003,584 Total $1,014,703,584

 

Dec 13, 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $73,645,197 Domestic Box Office $258,366,855 Total $950,466,855

 

Dec 17, 2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $54,724,334 Domestic Box Office $255,119,792 Total $952,119,792

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Dec 19, 2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Production Budget $109,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $47,211,490 Domestic Box Office $315,544,750 Total $887,217,688

 

Dec 18, 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Production Budget $94,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $62,007,528 Domestic Box Office $342,548,992 Total $927,048,992

 

Dec 17, 2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Production Budget $94,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $72,629,713 Domestic Box Office $377,845,920 Total $1,141,408,682

 

Dec 14, 2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $84,617,303 Domestic Box Office $303,003,584 Total $1,014,703,584

 

Dec 13, 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $73,645,197 Domestic Box Office $258,366,855 Total $950,466,855

 

Dec 17, 2014 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Production Budget $250,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend $54,724,334 Domestic Box Office $255,119,792 Total $952,119,792

If think you don't know what I meant, The box offices make always profit yes. But 80% of that profit goes to investors as far I remember. :P

Take a look at these 2 links. :)

http://priceonomics.com/why-do-all-hollywood-movies-lose-money/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

Edited by equaLz~
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Well, sure I see they report that the "losses" are only on paper. And, with intentional manipulating practices this is bound to be the case. But, these movies *are* profitable, otherwise there wouldn't be investors in the first place. That the profits are shuffled and hidden is besides the point.

 

Similar to why many large multi-national corporations pay little to no income tax within the US. It's not because these corporations aren't making profits, they are just cheating the system to avoid paying their taxes.

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tomorrowland_flop.jpg

 

 

If ever there was a studio that could withstand a serious stumble, it's Disney, home of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. And stumble it has withTomorrowland, the Brad Bird-directed fantasy adventure. Sources say the film will lose $120 million to $140 million by the time it finishes its global rollout, becoming Disney's first major financial misfire since The Lone Ranger prompted a $190 mil­lion write-down two summers ago.

It's also the third big-budget original tentpole of 2015 to bomb after Jupiter Ascending andSeventh Son, highlighting the risky nature of nine-figure filmmaking at a time when relatively lower-budget hits such as Spy and Pitch Perfect 2 are causing studios to look closely at the costs of creating franchises.

Tomorrowland, which cost $180 million to produce plus a marketing spend of $150 million or more, had everything going for it: a hot filmmaker in Bird, 57 (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol), and a global star in George Clooney, 54. But it debuted to weak reviews (was it for kids or adults?) and a soft $42.7 million during the long Memorial Day weekend. As of June 8, the film had earned $76.4 million domestically and $93.5 million overseas for a global total of $169.9 million. It might not gross much more than $200 million, far from enough to cover Disney's costs.

China, ravenous for American event movies, has been a particularly harsh blow. Tomorrowlandbowed to $13.8 million there in early June, getting trounced by the $38.3 million opening of the Japanese animated title Stand by Me Doraemon.

"Yes, they took a miss with Tomorrowland, but there are so many things working for Disney," says analyst Eric Handler of MKM Partners, noting that Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has earned nearly $1.35 billion worldwide since May. "And coming up, there's Inside Out (June 19),Ant-Man (July 17) and Star Wars (Dec. 18). Disney will do just fine this year."

That's why Tomorrowland hasn't stirred media or shareholder uproar as did Lone Ranger andJohn Carter ($200 million write-down). (Disney stock hasn't budged.) But it has raised the issue of whether studios will spend at this level on original tentpoles. Even the hit San Andreas, which Warner Bros. has marketed as an event pic, cost "only" $110 million.

"There's a reason you're seeing more sequels, prequels and known properties because you never know how films like Tomorrowland or Jupiter Ascending are going to turn out," says Handler. Jupiter was a pricey miss for Warners, Village Roadshow and other partners who paid nearly $180 million to make the sci-fi fantasy, which topped out at $181.9 million worldwide and lost about $120 million all-in.

Despite the flop, few fault Disney for taking a chance on a director like Bird. Says a rival executive, "When a guy like that comes to you with an original idea, and Clooney is part of the package, you'll take the swing."

 

How dare you heretic to edit my sexy report :P

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