Disney reports strong second quarter 2012 results

The Walt Disney Co. reported a 21% jump in net income for the quarter, as the strong performance of the television business and at the theme parks more than offset losses at the film studio.

Revenues rose to $9.6 billion for the three months ending March 31, up 6% from the same time a year ago. Net income exceeded $1.1 billion, compared with $942 million a year earlier. Disney reported earnings per share of 58 cents, excluding one-time items, an increase of 18% from a year ago.

The film studio reported an operating loss of $84 million for the quarter, reflecting the write-down associated with the sci-fi adventure film "John Carter."  The big-budget film, released in early March, brought in just $70 million in domestic box-office receipts, well shy of breaking even.

Disney's box-office dud was followed, two months later, by the record-setting performance of "The Avengers." The superhero movie, released by Disney's Marvel Entertainment group, smashed the domestic record for best opening weekend. 

"The Avengers," a film packed with action and A-list performers, brought in more than $207 million in its first three days of release in the U.S., and grossed a total of $702 million worldwide in its first two weeks. The results will be reflected in Disney's third quarter.

“We’re incredibly optimistic about our future, given the strength of our core brands,
Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC," Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger said in a statement. "And our extraordinary ability to grow franchises across our businesses, such as 'The Avengers,' which shattered domestic box-office records."

Disney's Media Networks television group remains the company's cash cow, reporting operating income of $1.7 billion for the quarter -- up 13% from a year ago.

Parks and resorts showed the most substantial gains. Operating income rose 53% to $222 million in the quarter, reflecting increased attendance and spending at Disney's domestic parks, and improved results from the Tokyo Disney Resort, which was closed a year ago because of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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Photo: Walt Disney Studios President of Production Sean Bailey; Walt Disney Studios President Alan Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Walt Disney Co. Bob Iger, then-President of Marketing Walt Disney Studios MT Carney and then-Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios Rich Ross attend "The Muppets" Los Angeles Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on Nov. 12, 2011, in Hollywood. Credit: Todd Williamson / WireImage

 

 

Disney expects $200-million loss on 'John Carter'

Walt Disney Co. said it expects to incur a loss of about $200 million on its big-budget sci-fi film, "John Carter,"  based on box-office results.

The film's theatrical performance -- which brought in $184 million in global box-office sales, well shy of expectations -- will drag the film studio to an operating loss that Disney estimated at $80 million to $120 million for the company's second quarter.

Wall Street analysts had projected a write-down for the film, which cost an estimated $350 million to make and market. One analyst estimated losses would approach as much as $165 million, based on uneven reviews and pre-release surveys of prospective moviegoers.

The Martian adventure story was based on a century-old science fiction series that had inspired other filmmakers, including George Lucas and James Cameron. It was intended as a potential new franchise, which would fuel merchandise sales, theme park attractions and lead to film sequels.

But the movie failed to connect with contemporary audiences in the U.S., in part because the source material by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs had already been so picked over by admirers that 'John Carter' felt derivative. Its director, Andrew Stanton, had never made a live-action movie before.  And the studio executives guiding the project had limited experience in running movie divisions.

Disney issued a brief statement, warning of the expected operating loss and projecting forward to its summer movies, including Marvel's latest superhero adventure, "The Avengers," and Pixar Animation Studios' forthcoming original film, "Brave."

"We believe [these] have tremendous potential to drive value for the studio and the rest of the company," the company said in its statement.

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Photo: Mark Strong, Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe attend the British premiere of "John Carter" at The BFI Southbank in March in London. Credit: Dave J. Hogan / Getty Images

'John Carter' could lose $165 million, analyst projects

Walt Disney Studios' science-fiction adventure film "John Carter" could lose $165 million, according to revised projections from one Wall Street analyst.

Evercore analyst Alan Gould more than doubled his prior estimated loss for the $250-million Martian epic as the film opens Friday in theaters nationwide.

"We normally would not be changing estimates prior to a movie opening, but given the tracking reports, reviews, and high profile of this picture we feel there is little risk in adjusting our estimate early," Gould wrote in an investor note published Friday morning.

PHOTOS: 'John Carter' premiere

The debut of "John Carter," a film based on a century-old tale by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, looks as if it will even be eclipsed by the second weekend numbers for the 3-D animated movie, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax." The family film, which opened at $70.2 million last weekend, could bring in as much as $40 million this weekend. Meanwhile, prerelease surveys of would-be moviegoers indicate "John Carter" could bring in $20 to $25 million worth of ticket sales over the three-day period. 

Overseas, the movie has brought in $13 million in box office receipts, according to one person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly. In Russia, "John Carter" had the highest opening-day in movie history, with $6.5 million in ticket sales, the source said. The movie also had solid starts in Asia.

Another analyst archly suggested "it might be best if Walt Disney Co. avoided movies about Mars altogether." The SNL Kagan Box Office Report noted that about a year ago the studio released the box-office dud "Mars Needs Moms." That 3-D animated movie, which cost a reported $150 million, earned just $21.4 million in domestic box office.

Kagan noted the film could outperform predictions, and do well in overseas -- where audiences respond to big-budget 3-D epics. And "John Carter's" accomplished director has proved naysayers wrong before.

"What makes the film risky is not so much its century-old source material or its relatively unknown cast or even the fact that it represents the first live-action film from director Andrew Stanton, who previously helmed "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E," wrote Kagan analysts Sarah Barry James and Wade Holden. "Rather, the danger comes from the movie's gargantuan budget."

"John Carter's" projected $25- to $30-million opening is reminiscent of another Disney science fiction film, "Mission to Mars," Kagan reports. That movie debuted in 2000 to $22.9 million and went on to earn a total domestic gross of $60.9 million.

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Fans create unofficial new trailer for Disney's 'John Carter'

For independent filmmaker Michael D. Sellers and his creative partner, Mark Linthicum, the main attraction for this year's Super Bowl happened during one of the commercial breaks — the premiere of the new film trailer for Walt Disney Studios' "John Carter."

The spot scored high marks among hard-core gamers, according to research firm Bluefin Labs, which monitors social media conversations about TV. But the "John Carter" trailer failed to resonate with an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan like Sellers, who has been waiting decades for Hollywood to animate the 100-year-old character, around whom Burroughs wrote a series of 11 adventure books.

"The 30-second version was an incredible disappointment," Sellers said. "I was like, 'Come on, let's fix this thing.'"

After the game, Sellers and Linthicum re-cut the trailer in a way that chronologically took the viewer from America circa the 1860s, where John Carter is seen riding on horseback in his Confederate gray uniform, to the war-weary veteran waking up, disoriented, on Mars.

The unofficial trailer and music build toward an epic conflict on Mars, with text that acknowledges the filmmaker's pedigree (Andrew Stanton directed Pixar Animation Studios' "Wall-E" and "Finding Nemo"), and hints at Burrroughs' influence on generations of science-fiction writers, including Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury.

Sellers, who is working on a Burroughs documentary, called the re-edit a "therapy session."

Since he posted it on his fan site, The John Carter Files, the trailer has attracted significant notice.

"This fan-made trailer seems to do what the official ones have not — sell the legacy of the stories as well as show how good the story is," wrote the movie-buff site Ain't It Cool News. After Stanton retweeted a link to the fan trailer, it logged some 85,000 views on YouTube and has been embedded on more than 100 sites.

"Great fan trailer!" Stanton tweeted. "They get it!"

Disney's "John Carter" could surely benefit from such loving fan attention. The film registered low interest with prospective film-goers when research companies began monitoring interest. Early pre-release surveys have shown the movie, which cost a reported $250 million to make, could bring in less than $30 million on opening weekend.

The studio still has time to create momentum for the high-profile project, which opens March 9. One person close to the movie's marketing, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak about the project, noted that James Cameron's "Avatar" met with similarly low pre-release expectations — and went on to shatter global box-office records.

Online buzz since the Wednesday premiere has been mostly non-committal, according to a preliminary analysis of tweets, blog mentions and conversations in online forums conducted by social media agency Banyan Branch. President Blake Cahill said 88% of the comments about "John Carter" are neutral in tone, with equal percentages offering negative and positive remarks.

Sellers is urging readers of his fan site to join in a grass-roots effort to promote the film by using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, and encouraging them to visit message boards on the Internet Movie Database website. He's even developing a press kit to help fans of the literature to talk up the film.

"Believe me when I tell you that if Disney — and we — don't get enough warm bodies in seats on opening day, word of mouth alone won't save it," Sellers wrote on his site.

Walt Disney Studios did not comment for this story.

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The John Carter Fan Trailer created by Michael Sellers, using elements available online as of Feb 5.

 

Andrew Stanton tweets on 'John Carter' marketing and more

The big-budget sci-fi adventure film “John Carter” opens March 9. On Friday its director, Andrew Stanton -- who also helmed the animated hits "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E" -- hit Twitter for some unfiltered talk about his new movie.

The film, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' series of early 20th century adventure novels, will reach theaters just eight weeks after Walt Disney Studios replaced its head of marketing, MT Carney, with Ricky Strauss. Stanton addressed questions about the movie's marketing and publicity campaigns.

Asked to assess the new television commercials promoting the film, Stanton responded, "They're trying hard. #goodfolk." Regarding the use of music by Peter Gabriel and Arcade Fire in a trailer, Stanton said, "New guy at Disney. Really caught tone of film." This appears to be a reference to Strauss.

Stanton, who has periodically fielded questions about the film on Twitter from his account @andrewstanton, also retweeted a discussion between two people about Disney's decision to prevent journalists from writing about advance screenings of the movie until March 7.

"The review embargo is Disney being dumb (Well you are, Disney. People love it.)," wrote a person under the Twitter handle @MattIsland.

There are 11 books in Burroughs' John Carter series. Is a Stanton-directed sequel to the first "John Carter" film possible? Asked if he would choose to shoot a sequel to one of his animated films, "Finding Nemo" or "Wall-E,” Stanton volunteered another title, "Carter."

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Photo: The city of Helium is seen in the movie "John Carter." Credit: Ryan Church/Disney