The gargantuan belly flop of “John Carter” shows how risky Hollywood's tentpole strategy can be.
After a weekend in which the $250 million film took in just $30 million domestically, the Disney film underwent a collective post-mortem which focused on costly reshoots, the lack of a recognizable star, the director’s inexperience with live action and Disney's marketing for the movie.
Comparing “John Carter” to another historic flop, “Ishtar,” The New York Times’ Brooks Barnes said the problem was that Disney was too indulgent with its talent.
“The studio was desperate to stay on good terms with…Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman,” wrote Barnes.