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"I don't check any of that stuff," director Andrew Stanton told Moviefone when confronted with the poor box-office tracking for "John Carter," his upcoming sci-fi film. "I learned a long time ago that all I can do is make it worth your while once you're sitting in the theater." About that: according to THR, "John Carter" is actually on course to do worse than expected. Its opening weekend grosses could hit just $25 million, despite the fact that the film is in 3D.
Back in February, it was reported that "John Carter" was headed for possible box-office disaster. Deadline.com quoted one studio executive as saying, "This could be the biggest write-off of all time." The Disney film cost a reported $250 million, a figure that star Taylor Kitsch has downplayed.
"Yeah, that's how I pick my movies. It has to be $300 million or $250 million," Kitsch sarcastically said to Moviefone when asked about the budgets for "John Carter" and "Battleship," which also cost north of $200 million. "That's how I pick my films. Don't tell me about the characters, the other actors, the script, the director or anything. Just the budget."
While final tracking numbers don't come out until Thursday, speculation is that "John Carter" could finish behind the second weekend of "The Lorax."
Of course, there is some hope: "John Carter" is expected to do well overseas, where 3D films generally clean-up at the box office. If the film does well internationally, its possibly disappointing domestic receipts will be much easier to swallow.
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