Sorry, kemosabe.
Walt Disney Co. warned yesterday that it will take a loss of as much as $190 million for box-office bomb “The Lone Ranger.”
The flick, starring Johnny Depp as trusty sidekick Tonto, cost an estimated $250 million to make and has so far taken in $175.5 million globally, according to Boxofficemojo.com.
Disney execs said the company will take a charge of between $160 million to $190 million on the film next quarter. The company’s chief financial officer, Jay Rasulo, told analysts during a call to discuss quarterly earnings that he couldn’t pinpoint the number because the movie has yet to open in a number of countries, including Japan.
Despite the disappointment, Disney CEO Bob Iger defended the company’s bet on big-budget films, saying it’s “one way to rise above the din.”
“There’s been a lot said about the risk of high-cost tentpole films,” he said during the call with analysts. “We can attest to that with ‘Lone Ranger,’ but we still believe tentpoles are a good strategy.”
Marketing costs for the summer flop weighed on results for the fiscal third quarter, although “Iron Man 3,” which is the top-grossing film of the year so far with $1.2 billion at the box office, removed some of the sting.
Studio revenue dipped 2 percent to $1.59 billion, while operating income was off 36 percent at $201 million.
The company’s theme parks and cable sports powerhouse ESPN helped offset weakness in the film business.
Overall, revenue rose 4 percent to $11.57 billion for the period ended June, while net income climbed 1 percent to $1.847 billion. On a per-share basis, earnings were flat at $1.01.
Investors weren’t impressed, and sent the shares down slightly in late trading. Before the release of results, the stock had closed up 1.56 percent at $67.05.