Disney is About to Have a 'Despicable' Weekend

More than one year after

left

with a multi-million-dollar black eye, critics are expecting the studio to suffer another major loss with the release of

.

Unlike

series, which was inspired by an amusement park ride and had no big screen predecessors,

is a remake of a 1930s film and radio series. Famous for shouting, "Hi-Yo, Silver!" while riding his horse,

was created long before

,

,

,

or any other modern blockbuster. It was also created before television series became more cinematic -- and earned more critical acclaim.

Nonetheless, Disney was determined to bring

back to the big screen. That decision, however inspired as it may have been when it was first tossed around the boardroom, is expected to haunt the studio for many months to come. When

flopped in 2012, Disney had

to make up for the loss. Between the ticket sales, merchandise, DVD sales, Marvel video games and other related revenue,

proved to be just what Disney needed to overcome a major box office flop. But while it may have been easy for moviegoers to forget, Disney still risked a ton of money producing

, which only made

domestically on a budget of $250 million. Worldwide, John Carter made $282 million -- $32 more than its budget. That might sound like Disney turned a profit, but Albert Fried & Company's Rich Tullo said that movie theaters can take as much as 40 percent of gross ticket sales. At that rate, John Carter only earned $169 million ($282 x 40 percent = $112.8 million, leaving roughly $169 for Disney). "

cost [$105] to produce," Tull

. "Generating [$280 million] at the box office is not a profitable gain for them. Movie theaters take about 40 percent of that." If Disney negotiated a better deal and only allowed movie theaters to take 10 percent of ticket sales (the same deal the

prequels were rumored to have received),

would have only made $4 million ($282 x 10 percent = $28.2, leaving roughly $254 million for Disney). Unfortunately, Disney spent a couple million to advertise

during the Super Bowl, and millions more to continue promoting the film after that. Disney's next anticipated flop,

, should perform a bit better. According to a

article entitled, "Disney Rides Into Box-Office Ambush with Depp's 'Lone Ranger,'" the film cost $225 to produce. Based on the early clips from the film, it appears that

has fewer special effects scenes than

or

, both of which had budgets in the $250 million range. Without a massive display of CG (computer-generated) beauty, it is hard to fathom how

could have cost $225 million. Part of the expense could be attributed to the Hollywood talent. Disney reportedly paid Robert Downey Jr. a whopping

to star in

. As the star of not one but

separate Disney franchises, Depp could be worth even more. The same could be said for director Gore Verbinski, who helmed the original

trilogy for Disney, along with

and a number of other films. His

paycheck was likely massive.

estimates that

will earn $35 million this weekend (Friday-Saturday). It should make a bit more with Wednesday and Thursday factored in, and is expected to earn $135 million by the end of its domestic run. That's better than

, but it could still be low enough to leave Disney with a deficit -- especially if the movie flops overseas. To make matters worse,

opens against

, which is expected to be

.