Costing $180 million to produce, Brad Bird’s live action fantasy adventure could see up to $140 million in losses by the time it finishes its global rollout.
Brad Bird’s live action fantasy adventure could cost Disney $120 to $140 million in losses by the time it finishes its global rollout, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
If THR’s sources are to believed, this will become Disney's first major financial misfire since The Lone Ranger prompted a $190 million write-down in 2013.
Tomorrowland cost $180 million to produce, alongside a $150 million marketing spend. The film debuted to weak reviews and a soft $42.7 million during the long Memorial Day weekend. As of June 8, the George Clooney-starring film had earned $76.4 million domestically and $93.5 million overseas for a total of $169.9 million worldwide. Industry watchers predict that It might not gross much more than $200 million, far from enough to cover Disney's costs.
In China, where American event movies have done particularly well, Tomorrowland had a $13.8 million debut, beat out by the $38.3 million opening of the Japanese animated title Stand by Me Doraemon.
Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron has earned nearly $1.35 billion worldwide since its release in May, and, with Pixar’s Inside Out and Marvel’s Ant-Man both still on the way, the flop isn’t likely to cause dismay among Disney shareholders.
Tomorrowland wasn’t the only blunder this year: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow and other partners paid nearly $180 million to make the Wachowskis’ sci-fi fantasy Ascending Jupiter. That film brought in only $181.9 million at the global box office, leading to a loss of roughly $120 million for investors.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
