The failure of the sci-fi movie ‘John Carter’ opens up new questions about the studio’s weak pipeline and overall movie strategy, according to Kim Masters writing in the Hollywood Reporter.
Now that John Carter has landed with a resounding thud <at the US domestic box
office> , Hollywood is trying to decipher whether Disney will conclude that it needs
to change the guard or at least tweak its strategy when it comes to homegrown live-
action films.
Since chairman Rich Ross, 50, arrived in October 2009 and set out to remake the
film studio, competitors and others have been watching to see whether the former
cable television executive could find his legs in the movie business. Some in the
industry — pointing to marketing missteps and a sputtering pipeline — had turned
thumbs down even before Carter failed, bringing an expected write-down of more than $150 million. Others believe that Ross, perceived as a favorite of Disney chief
executive Robert Iger, will escape blame and be judged instead on next year’s slate.