'John Carter': China Box Office Surprisingly Strong

"John Carter" may have bombed at the U.S. box office and in some foreign markets, but not in China. According to Filmbiz.asia, Disney's sci-fi Mars extravaganza has scored $29.8 million dollar total in 10 days in China.

"John Carter's" opening weekend debut in China hit an estimated $10.4 million, good for Disney's second-highest ever China opening.

The success of Andrew Stanton's film in China shouldn't come as too big of a surprise; international filmgoers - especially the Chinese - have long appreciated Hollywood's exported blockbusters, especially when 3D is involved. On the list of all-time China openings, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" tops the list, with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" in third place. Avatar is omitted from that list, but was reported to break opening day and week box office records by a wide margin. All three films were in 3D, and likely available in pirated form on Chinese streets long before their Chinese theatrical release dates.

China has a thriving movie-going audience and big spectacles like "John Carter" with little meaningful dialogue can often become hits. Poor marketing and pirating problems not withstanding, "Carter's" debut is on par with "Tron Legacy," which Disney opened in China to $10.6 million.

Adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs's famed series and starring Taylor Kitsch in the titular role, "John Carter" cost a reported $250 million (or possibly even more) to produce. Disney also spent untold millions more in marketing, so a few successes in China and other overseas markets aren't likely to ever put it into the black. Still, overseas earnings could lessen the final blow to Disney's financial books, which some have suggested might not be as bad as the predicted $200 million.

With a current domestic box office total of $63 million, $172 million internationally (not including China or Japan), and China's 10 day total of $29.8 million, "John Carter" is currently sitting at around $264 million in total box-office earnings, with openings still set for Japan on April 13.

Not everybody has disliked "John Carter"; critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes clock in at 51 percent positive, while users have been a bit more forgiving. Fans have given the film a 70-percent Fresh rating.

RELATED: Biggest box office flops

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• "Heaven's Gate," 1980

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $44 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong> $3.4 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $40.6 million Director Michael Cimino had all sorts of cachet following his Oscar-winning work on "The Deer Hunter." His next feature? This costly mess, which is still synonymous with Hollywood hubris gone mad, 32 years after its release. Like "Cutthroat Island" did with Carolco, this film eventually led studio United Artists to shutter its doors.

• "Ishtar," 1987

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $55 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $14.3 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $40.7 million The road to ruin. The Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman comedy (from director Elaine May) was rife with post-production woes, which led to bad pre-release buzz. <a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/fcm/ja06/elainemay.htm" target="_hplink">As Mike Nichols</a>, May's former comedy partner, said: "['Ishtar'] is the prime example that I know of in Hollywood of studio suicide."

• "Cutthroat Island," 1995

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $115 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $18.5 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $96.5 million The movie that sunk (sorry) both Renny Harlin's directing career and production company Carolco, though who could be surprised? Even Harlin and star Geena Davis knew "Cutthroat Island" -- about a female pirate -- was bad news from the start. "We begged to be let go. We begged that we didn't have to make this movie," <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb/tb110912action_director_renn" target="_hplink">he told KCRW last year</a>. "We felt that a pirate movie with a female lead was suicidal, but we were contractually obligated."

• "The 13th Warrior," 1999

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $160 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $61.9 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $98.1 million Directed by John McTiernan ("Die Hard") and eventually re-cut by author Michael Crichton (who wrote "Eaters of the Dead," which the film was based on), "The 13th Warrior" was another career-altering bust. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2003-11-20#celeb8" target="_hplink">The film left such a sour taste in the mouth of co-star Omar Sharif that he retired from acting for four years</a>.

• "Battlefield Earth," 2000

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $103 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $29.7 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $73.3 million Based on the book by L. Ron Hubbard, "Battlefield Earth" was one of the worst-reviewed films ever. Perhaps star John Travolta would have had better luck bringing "Dianetics" to the big screen?

• "Town & Country," 2001

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $105 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $10.3 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $94.7 Thanks to star Warren Beatty's meticulous nature, this romantic comedy took three years and millions of dollars to produce. When it was finally released in 2001, audiences didn't care: "Town & Country" was an all-time bust and marks the last time Beatty appeared onscreen. <strong>CORRECTION</strong>: An earlier version of this slide stated that Warren Beatty was the director of "Town and Country."

• "Pluto Nash," 2002

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $120 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $7.1 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $112.9 million From "Holy Man" to "Showtime" to "Meet Dave" to the recent release "A Thousand Words," Eddie Murphy is dependable for one thing: box-office washouts. "Pluto Nash" was his most notorious, a $100 million space "comedy" that couldn't even gross $5 million <em>total</em> at the domestic box office.

• "Gigli," 2003

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $74 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $7.2 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $66.8 million Jennifer Lopez was right: It <em>was</em> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyZbn5baJk" target="_hplink">"turkey time."</a>

• "The Alamo," 2004

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $145 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $25.8 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $119.2 million Forget "The Alamo."

• "How Do You Know," 2010

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $120 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $48.6 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $71.4 million How do you know this James L. Brooks romcom was doomed for disaster from the start? Look at the budget, which spiraled out of control after reshoots.

• "Mars Needs Moms," 2011

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $175 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $38.9 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $136.1 million <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley" target="_hplink">Lost in the uncanny valley</a>. The Robert Zemeckis-produced motion-capture spectacle, "Mars Needs Moms," was such a costly mistake, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disney-kills-robert-zemeckis-yellow-167415" target="_hplink">Disney canceled the director's plans to remake "Yellow Submarine" in a similar fashion</a>.

• "Green Lantern," 2011

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $325 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $219.9 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $105.1 million Despite over $100 million in domestic grosses, "Green Lantern" wound up being a write-off for Warner Bros. Worse, any hope to turn this fringe comic character into a franchise like "Iron Man" -- one that could produce income for the studio for years to come -- was lost. Hal Jordan wasn't kidding about that whole "blackest night" thing.

• "John Carter," 2012

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $375 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $282.7 million <strong>Total losses</strong>: $92.3 million John Carter of flops. The costly live-action debut from Pixar director Andrew Stanton <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-carter-cost-disney-millions-301704">reportedly lost Disney $120 million</a>, this despite grossing almost $300 million worldwide.

• "Battleship," 2012

  <strong>Cost</strong>: $210 million <strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $303 million "Battleship" earned $300 million worldwide, but because of high costs, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/battleship-universal-box-office-taylor-kitsch-327972">the film reportedly lost Universal parent company NBC $150 million</a>.

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