Tuesday, March 20, 2012

$200 Million Write-Down for 'John Carter,' Disney (NYSE: DIS) Says

$200 Million Write-Down for 'John Carter,' Disney (NYSE: DIS) SaysShawshank, Va 3/20/12 (StreetBeat) -- Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS) on Monday said it would take a write-down of about $200 million tied to the science-fiction megaflop "John Carter."

That loss is greater than some analysts had expected, and will cause the studio to record an operating loss of between $80 million and $120 million for its second quarter, which ends on March 31, Disney said. Disney's studio recorded an operating profit of $77 million in the second quarter of last year.

Analysts had pegged the "John Carter" write-down in the $100 million to $165 million range. The larger total reflects poor global reaction to the film after two weekends in theaters; sales total about $184 million, which must be split with theater owners. "John Carter," which was directed by Andrew Stanton and cost $350 million to make and market, will go down as one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.

Attention now swings to Disney's upcoming movie schedule, which looks quite promising. The films include "The Avengers," a Marvel superhero movie that is expected to be one of the biggest hits of the year, and "Brave," an original entry from Pixar that is generating positive buzz.

In a statement, Disney said it believed those two films "have tremendous potential to drive value for the studio and the rest of the company."

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