This is The Movie That Became the Biggest Box Office Bomb Ever

Andrew Stanton, a prominent Disney director with a list of hugely successful and well-regarded Pixar films under his belt, took a massive gamble in 2012 that changed his career trajectory.

John Carter is based on the first of the Barsoom novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs at the turn of the 20th century, a series that inspired countless sci-fi epics. However, despite the pedigree, the film resulted in a historic financial loss for Disney.

The film chronicles the first interplanetary adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who is mysteriously transported to Mars. There, he attempts to mediate civil conflict amongst the warring kingdoms of Barsoom while falling for a princess. Produced by Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, and Lindsey Collins, it stars Taylor Kitsch in the title role, with Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, and Willem Dafoe in supporting roles.

Several attempts to adapt the Barsoom series had been made since the 1930s by various major studios, but most stalled in development hell. In the late 2000s, Walt Disney Pictures began a concerted effort to adapt Burroughs’ works to film, driven by Stanton’s passion for the source material. It was his live-action debut, following his directorial work for Disney on Pixar’s Finding Nemo and WALL-E.

Although the film grossed nearly $300 million worldwide, it lost a considerable amount of money due to its astronomical costs. At the time of its release, Disney claimed the film’s production budget was $250 million, although tax returns released in 2014 revealed its exact budget was $263.7 million after taking tax credits into account. With marketing included, the total cost ballooned to $350 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made.

Before the film opened, analysts predicted the film would be a huge financial failure due to this exorbitant spending. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com, noted “John Carter’s bloated budget would have required it to generate worldwide tickets sales of more than $600 million to break even … a height reached by only 63 films in the history of moviemaking”. Consequently, Disney took a $200 million writedown on the film, ranking it among the biggest box-office bombs of all time.

Much of the film’s failure has been attributed to its promotion, which has been called “one of the worst marketing campaigns in movie history”. The trailers failed to explain the plot or the setting, and the decision to remove “of Mars” from the title left audiences confused. Due to its box office performance, Disney cancelled plans for Gods of Mars and Warlord of Mars, the rest of the trilogy Stanton had meticulously planned.

Despite the financial wreckage, the film’s two leads remain proud of the work they did and believe the film is better than its reputation. Kitsch, who has largely returned to television work following his two big-budget failures in 2012, told The Hollywood Reporter that “I learned a ton on that movie. I honestly don’t see it as a failure”. He noted that fans in Europe still stopped him on the street and mentioned the movie, which has seen an uptick in viewership due to streaming.

Lynn Collins says it took some time for her to come to terms with the film and its effect on her career. Eventually, she noted that “[p]eople started reaching out to me and expressing to me how much the movie changed their life… It’s posterity forever.” She came to realize that “a movie that is that polarizing is good no matter what, because that’s what art is supposed to do”.

Taylor Kitsch has since carved out a respectable niche in gritty television dramas and action thrillers. He recently starred in the prequel series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, reprising his role as Ben Edwards alongside Chris Pratt. He has also been involved in the limited series American Primeval, a raw adventure set in the American West that explores the birth of the American frontier.

Andrew Stanton returned to animation with success but also continued live-action directing, including high-profile episodes of 3 Body Problem and the sci-fi film In the Blink of an Eye. Co-star Willem Dafoe remains a cinematic staple, having recently appeared in the gothic horror Nosferatu and the highly anticipated sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Meanwhile, Lynn Collins had a significant arc on The Walking Dead and continues to work in independent film.

Tell us if you think John Carter deserves a second chance or if it was rightfully ignored by audiences in the comments.