Despite some favorable reviews from critics (including our own Dave Taylor), Disney announced today that it intends to write off a $200 million dollar loss due to the terrible box office performance of ‘John Carter’.

With a reported budget of $275 million and an extra $100 million spent on marketing, things began to look bleak when ‘John Carter’ only reeled in $30 million on its domestic opening weekend. At that time, industry analysts were already estimating that Disney would report loses of around $150 on the film, but it’s still a bit of a shocker when this high of a number comes in. For the fiscal quarter, which ends March 31, Disney is expected to report a loss of up to $120 million. That’s a far cry from this same time last year when Disney reported a gain of $77 million.

With the failures of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ (2010), Prince of Persia: Sands of Time’ (2010), and ‘Mars Needs Moms’ (2011), this marks the fourth year in a row that Disney has had to take a loss due to a movie flopping at the theater.

Of course, this is only one quarter. Disney might recover yet and has released a statement to Wall Street professing the company’s belief that things are going to turn around with this summer’s blockbusters ‘The Avengers’ and Pixar’s ‘Brave’. And based on fan excitement for both of those, I’d say Disney has more than a chance to make 2012 a profitable year yet.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter