‘The Lone Ranger’ Will Cost Disney Millions Of Dollars

Analysts believed that director Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger would end up costing the folks at Disney a serious chunk of change thanks to its poor box office performance. Now the studio has revealed just how much money it stands to lose.

The $200 million western only banked around $175.5 million during its theatrical run around the world. As a result, Disney revealed during an earnings call on Tuesday that the flick will end up costing the studio between $160 million and $190 million during the fourth quarter.

Although the film is likely to recoup its budget on Blu-ray and DVD, the marketing costs are what ultimately sunk this cinematic adventure. However, it’s unclear how much money the studio spent to promote Verbinski’s misfire.

“Needless to say, we’re disappointed with the result of ‘The Lone Ranger,'” Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo explained.

Perhaps the most laughable aspect of The Lone Ranger’s dismal performance this summer is Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer’s insistence that critics killed the picture’s hope of success. Other movies with bad reviews have performed well at the box office, but don’t tell that to the stars.

“I think the reviews were written seven to eight months before we released the film,” Depp explained during a recent interview. His co-star seemed to agree.

“[Critics] jumped on the bandwagon to try and bash it. They tried to do the same thing to World War Z. It didn’t work, the movie was successful. Instead they decided to slit the jugular of our movie,” Armie Hammer said. It’s always someone else’s fault in Hollywood.

However, don’t start feeling sorry for Disney just yet. The studio has a number of huge cash cows waiting in the wings. In fact, analysts have already predicted that Star Wars: Episode VII will generate around $1.2 billion during its theatrical jaunt in 2015.

Are you surprised that The Lone Ranger will end up costing Disney upwards of $190 million?

[Image via Buena Vista / Walt Disney Pictures]