UPDATE: BOX OFFICE: JOHN CARTER Fails To Hit #1 Spot; Unlikely To Reach $30M

The critics may be split when it comes to John Carter, but moviegoers are voting with their wallets and it would appear that the Disney film is on track to perform even more badly than first predicted. Read on for details.

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By Josh Wilding - 3/10/2012

Deadline report that The Lorax will hold on to the #1 spot at the US box office this weekend, holding off not so stiff competition from John Carter. The kicker? Universal's animated Dr Suess flick was made for only $70M while director Andrew Stanton's adaptation of the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs novel has a budget of $250M. Despite a soft midnight opening, studio execs were keeping their fingers crossed that it would at least hit the $30M mark, but even that now seems like a lot to ask for. For any other film, this would be considered a decent enough opening. However, for a film with a budget as large as John Carter's this is an unmitigated disaster for Disney. Click HERE for my review of the film and stay tuned for another box office update in the next couple of days.

1. The Lorax (Universal) Week 2 [3,746 Theaters]
Friday $9.8M (-44%), Est Weekend $40M, Cume $124M

2. John Carter (Disney) NEW [3,749 Theaters]
Friday $9.6M, Est Weekend $26.5M

3. Project X (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,055 Theaters]
Est Friday $3.9M (-51%), Est Weekend $11.4M, Cume $40.1M

4. Silent House (Open Road) NEW [1,890 Theaters]
Est Friday $2.6M, Est Weekend $6.5M

5. Act Of Valor (Relativity) Week 3 [2,951 Theaters]
Est Friday $2.0M, Est Weekend $7.5M, Cume $56.2M

6. A Thousand Words (Paramount) NEW [2,124 Theaters]
Est Friday $1.9M, Est Weekend $5.7M

7. Safe House (Universal) Week 5 [2,144 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $115.8M

8. The Vow (Screen Gems/Sony) Week 5 [2,478 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Weekend $4.4M, Cume $118M

9. This Means War (Fox) Week 4 [1,848 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $47.1M

10. Journey 2 (Warner Bros) Week 5 [2,525 Theaters]
Friday $850K, Weekend $4.7M, Cume $91M

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has slightly different figures up, with John Carter in first place ($9.8M) and The Lorax in second ($9.6M). However, they also confirm that the film is likely to finish the weekend with a disappointing $27M. Stay tuned for further updates.

STARRING:

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter
Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris
Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkas
Thomas Haden Church as Tal Hajus
Dominic West as Sab Than
James Purefoy as Kantos Kan
Mark Strong as Matai Shang
Daryl Sabara as Edgar Rice Burroughs

RELEASE DATE: Out Now.

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78 Comments

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	GUNSMITH - 3/10/2012, 8:46 AM Login to report abuse OH DEAR..
	Spidey31 - 3/10/2012, 8:47 AM Login to report abuse I Thought this was going to be a great movie.. Still gonna watch it
	Mrsinister - 3/10/2012, 8:48 AM Login to report abuse This movie was awsome! Go see it while it's in theaters!
	Linta - 3/10/2012, 8:48 AM Login to report abuse am hoping JC overtook The Lorax at the first weekend BO.
	Linta - 3/10/2012, 8:50 AM Login to report abuse saw it yesterday.......it was great 4/5
	nailbiter111 - 3/10/2012, 8:52 AM Login to report abuse Mrsinister - Awesome? Wow we must of watched two different movies. It was not so good.
	dailycomicsfix - 3/10/2012, 8:53 AM Login to report abuse why is it that this guy always seems delighted when a movie "appears" to fail at the box office? its as if he enjoys bearing the news to everyone, an attempt to prove that his negative view of the movie is somehow correct...
	CapA - 3/10/2012, 8:55 AM Login to report abuse I'm okay with disappointing films failing.
	Varmintkiller2 - 3/10/2012, 9:01 AM Login to report abuse I saw this last night. It was awesome! Go see it in the theaters. Its worth it!
	batfan175 - 3/10/2012, 9:02 AM Login to report abuse @DCF: so? lots of people claim a movie is going to suck months before its release and the trolls on here are certain to come back even years after a film has failed to meet any kind of expectations, just so they can remind you that they were right and someone was wrong (even though they did not know for sure at the time and were just hoping the film would bomb), just because someone had a little faith in the project. But since most trolls support one movie over the other they're going to want to see the other side destroyed and that means they're going to try and be mean to the extent that they're able because they enjoy the feeling of righteousness it gives them (even though they'll just be remembered as jerks)once the dust has settled. Taking pleasure in the suffering of others is considered evil but this guy here just reports the numbers without trying to insult anyone and i don't see the harm in that.
	StrangerX - 3/10/2012, 9:03 AM Login to report abuse I'm going to see it in a few hrs.
	Anthrax - 3/10/2012, 9:06 AM Login to report abuse dude [frick] YOU LORAX!
	Lokibegoodstick - 3/10/2012, 9:06 AM Login to report abuse Aw crap that's to bad, was hoping it would do well, I'm personally not to excited about it, but that's because I'm so hyped for the Avengers, it never had a chance with me. Lame I know but there you have it. Hopefully good word of mouth and it get legs, or the internationally market will save it.
	ecksmanfan - 3/10/2012, 9:09 AM Login to report abuse Once I saw the first trailer, I had a feeling the movie would be this year's Cowboys vs Aliens. After watching it last night, I was right. I thought JC was long, drawn out and uneventful. Taylor Kitsch is the new Sam Worthington.
	Mrsinister - 3/10/2012, 9:18 AM Login to report abuse @nailbiter111 ya I loved it. I didn't expect to go in to watch a movie with a riveting plot because I know it's a Disney movie. Do you know what that means? That means its gonba be a fun family movie that will be a tad brainless. If you were expecting something more then you should stop coming to this website. JON CARTER WAS AWESOME!!
	Mrsinister - 3/10/2012, 9:19 AM Login to report abuse Plus the visuals were amazing!!
	Fabius - 3/10/2012, 9:25 AM Login to report abuse ok for JC;;;but 6. A Thousand Words (Paramount) NEW [2,124 Theaters] Est Friday $1.9M, Est Weekend $5.7M ...EMurphy...Fail again. Sade for him. He very very very need advice or stop movie and go painting, or fishing. Or do Beverlly hills Cop, only really good thing he did
	Hawksblueyes - 3/10/2012, 9:30 AM Login to report abuse Good or bad seems to be entirely in the individuals taste for this film. Make or break, the delight many people are taking in the prospect of this films financial failure is absolutely sickening to me. I read this report at Deadline earlier and I've never read such a moronic, one sided, condemnation that disguised itself as news. The report in itself was a malicious, personal attack on John Carter and everyone involved with the film (which would have been perfectly acceptable if headlined as an EDITORIAL). However, it was supposedly a simple Box Office report. I won't be using Deadline again as a "NEWS" source unless they stop using the term "News" as their personal platform.
	rocky - 3/10/2012, 9:43 AM Login to report abuse Most of the negative comments are from people that either didn't see the film or were predicting failure before seing it and can't stand to go back on their predictions. If you take the comments from people that actually saw the film you see it's mostly positive The movie is awesome indeed.
	Hawksblueyes - 3/10/2012, 9:57 AM Login to report abuse mothman: Ghost Rider was not a Marvel Studios film. The Avengers is not a Disney Studio film. You just typed a bunch of words for no reason.
	Linta - 3/10/2012, 10:04 AM Login to report abuse right you are Hawks
	Linta - 3/10/2012, 10:07 AM Login to report abuse who u.....wat ever......al i can say i love 2 watch again the john carter...ok donkey..go [frick] ur slf.
	JeromeMorrow - 3/10/2012, 10:08 AM Login to report abuse Saw it yesterday. Loved it. Good ol' fashioned, smashmouth pulp movie. I was surprised, as I was expecting to be underwhelmed. I thought it caught the spirit of the books very well. But I can see that bad word-of-mouth (unwarranted in my opinion) is really deadening it's earning potential. And the marketing for it was terrible. I thought it was a great movie, and I hope it does very well in the box office. But that doesn't look to be the case so far... A shame. I've been waiting for this movie to get made forever! It finally gets made and gets made right -- thank the Gods that Sly Stallone didn't get it made when he wanted to be in it -- and now it's probably gonna flop. Damn.
	headlopper - 3/10/2012, 10:11 AM Login to report abuse You want an honest, unbiased review, click the link: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/john_carter_of_mars/news/?a=56086 ...oh, and all these pseudo-intellectual, pretentious self-important tools who try and pass themselves off as mainstream and contemporary speaking for the 'masses-at- large', duplicitously asserting altruism for our wallets are full of pomposity and arrogance. If you don't own stock in Disney , why do care how much money it's made thus far. The weekend hasn't even ended yet! Do you care how much money McDonalds made last quarter? The movie is terrific. Go to the theater, sit down and enjoy a very well made, entertaining movie. You won't regret it.
	DDD - 3/10/2012, 10:14 AM Login to report abuse I wouldn't worry about MARVEL & THE AVENGERS. JOSS WHEDON knows how to please the common movie-goer. He's had some very successful, long-running TV shows that appeal to almost everybody (BUFFY, ANGEL), he's written & rewritten scripts for movies that were very successful. He's very good at ensemble pieces. He knows how to direct people/actors and get the "character" out of them and characters are the center of any movie. That's what you learn first when you begin learning scriptwriting. The characters drive the movie and get the audience (which are people) drawn into the experience. Without good character presence a movie has no heart. The character can be a person or a thing or even an "occurrence/happening" but without good character development their is no feeling from the audience. WHEDON knows characters. So I wouldn't worry about AVENGERS too much!
	revloveR - 3/10/2012, 10:16 AM Login to report abuse lulz at hawks
	Dmon - 3/10/2012, 10:17 AM Login to report abuse This Article is a LIE according to Box Office Mojo John Carter was #1 on Friday. Josh Wilding seems intend to see this movie fail.
	Dmon - 3/10/2012, 10:18 AM Login to report abuse http://boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/
	DDD - 3/10/2012, 10:18 AM Login to report abuse CORRECT HAWKS@!
	Dmon - 3/10/2012, 10:19 AM Login to report abuse Galactus should remove this article. Because it is untrue.
	alekesam - 3/10/2012, 10:23 AM Login to report abuse mothman: I'd say Whedon would take Transformers in tights in a heartbeat if it meant getting the 1 billion-plus take that it made. It seems you're a Nolanite (sorry to hear that btw) so it's funny that you talk about geeky fanboys yet you'd lick Nolan's cum like ice cream and ask for seconds.
	DDD - 3/10/2012, 10:23 AM Login to report abuse The problem with this movie is the story is extremely old. Not very many people nowadays even know anything about it! I love the story and EDGAR RICE BURROUGH'S stuff. I'm going to see this movie for myself before I dismiss it so quickly!
	misterwizz - 3/10/2012, 10:25 AM Login to report abuse Don't think that the poor box office means that people didn't like it (yes I'm looking at you Josh and your negative review, it was so predictable that you would make this article).
	HulkbusterNYC - 3/10/2012, 10:26 AM Login to report abuse I saw this coming months ago.. Once Disney took Mars out of the title and started promoting the [frick] out of it I knew there were gonna be problems.. The fact of the matter is that the average movie goer has no idea about JC and the movie will feel like a rip off of Star Wars or Avatar to them.. Of course it's not a rip off but the average movie goer doesn't care if the literature of Borroughs was written first, they just kno that They SAW it done first in Stat Wars & Avatar.. Also the movie just feels dated to me.. How many people today can sympathize with a Civil War soldier transported to Mars? The Civil War is practically ancient by now and everyone over the age of 10 knows Mars is a desolate wasteland.. The writing was on the wall for this movie the entire time.. Might've been a great story in it's day but today it simply falls short..
	TheMarmoset - 3/10/2012, 10:27 AM Login to report abuse This was a good movie. Sad that people arent giving it a chance and would rather see another stupid CGI cartoon.
	DDD - 3/10/2012, 10:28 AM Login to report abuse The weekend is not over either. Let's see what's what on Monday.
	rocky - 3/10/2012, 10:29 AM Login to report abuse @ DMON I loved the movie and hope it makes a bundle for the selfish reason that I'd love to see sequels and I'd love to see this classic get its due also. But to be fair all the numbers being tossed about are estimates. I believe boxofficemojo more than deadline because the bitch nikki there has an axe to grind when it comes to some studios and she loves big failures because a loser like her has nothing better to do than hope those that dare fail
	thalidomide - 3/10/2012, 10:30 AM Login to report abuse Good thing we still have The Avengers, TDKR, Spider-Man and The Hobbit.
	Dmon - 3/10/2012, 10:37 AM Login to report abuse @rocky I agree with you about Deadline. It seems Nikki is really touting Dr. Seuss' The Lorax because of its message.
	kevberg - 3/10/2012, 10:37 AM Login to report abuse I know i'm gonna see it ASAP, might not be in the weekend though. It looks amazing. heres the one thing...the ECONOMY is killing all the big budget stuff. people have less money and ticket rates still go up because the studios want more money theaters. Remember a 2-3 years ago when a 60 million weekend was just so-so?
	headlopper - 3/10/2012, 10:38 AM Login to report abuse @DDD - Exactly. You're a smart guy.
	kevberg - 3/10/2012, 10:40 AM Login to report abuse Bring back teh edit button..... BTW, FAHK the Lorax!
	dcbat - 3/10/2012, 10:41 AM Login to report abuse saw it today and liked it. not the greatest film i ever saw but i really liked it. worth seeing just for lynn collins alone, yummy!
	headlopper - 3/10/2012, 10:45 AM Login to report abuse @dcbat-- She is painfully attractive...
	Ryguy88 - 3/10/2012, 11:05 AM Login to report abuse It looked like just another bland special effects movie from the trailers, I didn't think it would struggle to reach $100M by the end of its run though. This is on pace to make Green Lantern look like a smash hut! Someone said about a week ago that this would own TDKR. whoever made that statement should step forward now.
	Ryguy88 - 3/10/2012, 11:11 AM Login to report abuse Hawks, doesn't Disney finance the Marvel Studio films? Kevberg, good movies still make lots of money, don't blame everything on the economy.
	ClarkFarley2012 - 3/10/2012, 11:20 AM Login to report abuse I'm still going to see it..Real talk.
	bropous - 3/10/2012, 11:23 AM Login to report abuse "Good or bad seems to be entirely in the individuals taste for this film. Make or break, the delight many people are taking in the prospect of this films financial failure is absolutely sickening to me." Agreed 10000%, hawks. It sickens me as well watching people jerk their gherkins to seeing a movie fail. Sickens me even more when people who have never SEEN the film say it is total crap and deserves to fail. "Most of the negative comments are from people that either didn't see the film or were predicting failure before seing it and can't stand to go back on their predictions...If you take the comments from people that actually saw the film you see it's mostly positive" Right on, rocky. "I guess the suits in charge of the Disney/Marvel Avengers movie are sweating pretty hard about now." Dream on, mothman, you douche. Lorax beat out John Carter...why? Well shit when you have little kids across the nation screaming at their parents week after week to go see a cartoon, you will get asses in seats. It's a G-rated kids' film, of COURSE it comes in #1! Moron! And lest we forget, Lorax also preaches the faggy Global Warming made-up bullshit that Dr. Seuss did not include, which means it will be a hit with faggy little birkenstock parents who will eat this shit up.
	MovieMaster - 3/10/2012, 11:29 AM Login to report abuse Seeing this tomorrow with a few friends, will contribute to the box office and form my own opinion.
	bropous - 3/10/2012, 11:37 AM Login to report abuse Good call, MovieMaster.
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