Rich Ross Resigns

[Disneyfan_76]

John Carter was/is a great movie with tons of sequel potential. It was very entertaining. The general public was just never properly introduced to the characters or enticed to see the movie.

Go see John Carter before you judge the movie.

I completely agree. I saw the movie, thought it was great. Very entertaining. I only saw the articles about it being a flop afterwards. Don't understand why, it was a good movie.

 

[Ignohippo]

There are just a few things to remember here while discussing the film industry...

1) From a movie receiving the greenlight to theatrical release there is usually a significant gap. As Rich Ross was only head of the studios for 2.5 years or so, many of the "hits" and "flops" we have seen during his time were not greelight under his direction.

2) In regards to a movies success... the box office figures we see are not the amounts that the studio receives to cover its costs of making, distributing and marketing a film... therefore if the box office # is relatively close to the estimated cost of a film (which usually does not include marketing) it would probably be safe to assume that a studio was at a loss on that particular film, at least in relationship to the revenue received from the theatrical release alone

3) Disney's marketing branch has gone through some shake ups recently and we can not be certain which marketing leadership approved which campaigns... so the true opinion we can express is on the actual campaign and not the executive who was around when we actually saw the campaign being released

Just a few thoughts before we continue to make rash over-generaliztions about any executives effectiveness at any studio

Everything you say is true, however Ross was ultimately the man in charge for the marketing of Disney's slate over the past 2.5 years, and there are very few films that didn't underachieve during his tenure.

According to the Deadline article the only movie that has appeared in theaters so far that Ross actually greenlit was "Prom". All others come out over the next twelve months.

Of that slate, almost every movie is incredibly difficult to market (The Lone Ranger, Frankenweenie, Oz, Maleficent, Brave), and there really doesn't appear to be a runaway hit in the bunch. The biggest problem is that they're all BIG budget films with less than appealing main characters. They will all be respectable hits, but none will be blockbusters. Disney lives and dies by the blockbuster.

 

[Ignohippo]

I completely agree. I saw the movie, thought it was great. Very entertaining. I only saw the articles about it being a flop afterwards. Don't understand why, it was a good movie.

For the life of me, I'll never understand why Disney was so quick to come out in the media to talk about what a flop it was or why they gave up on it so quickly. They came out in the press two weeks after its release and announced themselves what a flop it was. Once they admitted it, it was over.

Two weeks after its release, they should have taken the Avatar approach and talked about nothing but what a great movie it is and how they expect to build momentum once more people have seen it. Once they saw the marketing wasn't working, they never shifted plans – they just completely gave up on it.

 

[G00fyDad]

It is hard to green light one of the biggest flops in history and hold on to your job.

Disney Pictures seems to be a revolving door, any idea who might be able to be successful in that role?

They could move Meg Crofton into that position. At least it would her out of the parks.

 

[G00fyDad]

John Carter was/is a great movie with tons of sequel potential. It was very entertaining. The general public was just never properly introduced to the characters or enticed to see the movie.

Go see John Carter before you judge the movie.

No kidding. The general public has no idea that it is based on a 95 year old novel. The story, if given a chance, is amazing!

 

[misterID]

Add 100 million to the marekting of The Avengers and you'll have a film well over 350 million. But its revenues will still blow past that mark within a month.

It's going to be a monster.

 

[misterID]

Ross was in trouble with Prom, which showed he had no idea what he was doing and was a better fit for TV.

Mars Needs Mom's was a big time disaster that did more harm than John Carter. If it weren't for MNM John Carter would not have been the death nell that it ended up being. They could have recovered, at least be given another opportunity.

 

[captainkidd]

Why do you think this?

Most films of the genre are like that. Like the Twilight and Harry Potter movies. They appeal to a specific fan base, one that will come out in droves the first week the movie is out, and will likely see it a couple of times. It's the type of movie that if you want to see it, you're going to go see it right away. Three weeks after it's release, the average non-fan isn't going to say "Hey, let's go see The Avengers."

 

[captainkidd]

Add 100 million to the marekting of The Avengers and you'll have a film well over 350 million. But its revenues will still blow past that mark within a month.

It's going to be a monster.

I'm not so sure. The highest grossing Marvel movie to date is Spider-Man, which obviously isn't part of The Avengers. I don't see many more people going to see this than Iron Man. That was the most successful "Avenger" movie, and it made $318 million. If you look at the other 3 "Avenger" movies, they've averaged $164 million. Now if you factor in how many of those people went to also see Iron Man, you probably have about $330 - $360 million.

 

[captainkidd]

Hunger Games drop off in the consecutive weeks are on par with most of the better movies of the year, but I don't see the numbers to suggest it has a long way to go past the beginning of summer...it will most likely finish above 370 million domestic. Also the overseas tally hasn't been as good as any of the marvel flicks...Still if it can pop off a 650 mil worldwide gross, that is phenomenal for a first film! I still haven't seen it, will most likely wait for redbox.

I will be very very surprised if Avengers doesn't hit 1 billion World wide...Especially with the overwhelming good reviews coming in.
Even if the box office #'s don't match profit margin% of HG, the merch will well beyond exceed anything that many of the movies this year will do. This is a x-mas list treasure trove.

The overseas totals for the Avengers movies hasn't been out of this world, and nothing to suggest it will hit $1 billion dollars. The average worldwide gross of each of the films has been less than $500 million.

 

[Captain Neo]

Avengers is going to be a colossal hit that will make "hunger games" look like a joke. I am astunded anyone would disagree.

 

[AEfx]

The Avengers is going to be a monster, and that's from someone that isn't even a real Marvel fan (I much prefer DC). I saw the Spiderman films (I own them, I think - maybe not the 3rd one), I couldn't make it through the first Iron Man (so didn't care), and the only one I've seen was Captain America (which, I saw by "accident" - and ended up loving).

It's already got good reviews popping up, and fans of all the different films have one film to gang up and go see. I would have not been interested in seeing it until video (and only then because of the female hero), but after seeing Captain America I'll definitely go see it opening weekend (and I only go to the movies once or twice a year, max, now).

I have no doubt it will be one of the biggest films of the year, probably only Dark Knight Returns will best it, for sure in the genre category and perhaps overall.

 

[captainkidd]

It's already got good reviews popping up, and fans of all the different films have one film to gang up and go see. I would have not been interested in seeing it until video (and only then because of the female hero), but after seeing Captain America I'll definitely go see it opening weekend (and I only go to the movies once or twice a year, max, now).

That is where people are making wrong assumptions. Do you honestly think that anyone who sent to see Thor and Captain America DIDN'T go see Iron Man? It's the same audience.

 

[captainkidd]

Avengers is going to be a colossal hit that will make "hunger games" look like a joke. I am astunded anyone would disagree.

That's kind of a ridiculous statement. The Hunger Games cracked the top 20 money makers of all time last night, including beating both Iron Man movies about by $30 million (so far). I'd hardly call it a "joke".

 

[xdan0920]

Most films of the genre are like that. Like the Twilight and Harry Potter movies. They appeal to a specific fan base, one that will come out in droves the first week the movie is out, and will likely see it a couple of times. It's the type of movie that if you want to see it, you're going to go see it right away. Three weeks after it's release, the average non-fan isn't going to say "Hey, let's go see The Avengers."

I disagree. This movie is getting very good to excellent reviews and it is a major event movie. For comparisions sake...

The Dark Knight spent 11 weeks in the top 10, and 9 in the top 3. With 4 weeks at #1. 158, 75, 42, 25 million dollar weekends.

Spiderman spent 8 weeks in the top 10, two weeks at #1, three weeks at #3, grosses of, 115, 71, 45, 28, 35.

Ironman spent nine weeks in the top 10, five weeks in the top 3. Two weeks at #1, grosses of 98, 51, 31, 20, 26.

Ironman 2 which got MUCH weaker reviews only spent 8 weeks in the top 10, and had only one #1 weekend. If the Avengers keeps up these great reviews and audiences like it, expect it to play out more like The Dark Knight or Spiderman. With todays ticket prices, that could easily approach 1 billion.

Avengers is going to be a colossal hit that will make "hunger games" look like a joke. I am astunded anyone would disagree.

Based on what? Are you expecting Avengers to be an Avatar level hit?

 

[Cosmic Commando]

That's kind of a ridiculous statement. The Hunger Games cracked the top 20 money makers of all time last night, including beating both Iron Man movies about by $30 million (so far). I'd hardly call it a "joke".

It's definitely not a "joke". Why do people have to hate on Hunger Games? Multiple movies can be successful, and it's not like Hunger Games is a particularly hot theme park property that Uni will snatch up. That being said, I was shocked at how low the foreign numbers for Hunger Games are; I guess not every country has picked up the books yet? I DO expect Avengers to beat Hunger Games, but with similar domestic numbers and huge overseas numbers. Disney bought Marvel for the worldwide recognition, so it better perform well overseas.

 

[celluloid]

Just to point out to..

Avengers HAS to do those big numbers as an almost gurantee becuase of how much money was spent on advertising and the film's total budget probably being at or plus 200 million.

Compare that to the Hunger games' 75 million in comparison.

 

[Gregoryp73]

It's definitely not a "joke". Why do people have to hate on Hunger Games? Multiple movies can be successful, and it's not like Hunger Games is a particularly hot theme park property that Uni will snatch up. That being said, I was shocked at how low the foreign numbers for Hunger Games are; I guess not every country has picked up the books yet? I DO expect Avengers to beat Hunger Games, but with similar domestic numbers and huge overseas numbers. Disney bought Marvel for the worldwide recognition, so it better perform well overseas.

I don't understand it either...it's a great premise. I think any genre that get's it's start with young adults goes under scrutiny...just like Potter vs. star wars/LOTR , Twilight vs. anything (this one I can understand though)...

The overseas totals for the Avengers movies hasn't been out of this world, and nothing to suggest it will hit $1 billion dollars. The average worldwide gross of each of the films has been less than $500 million.

Avengers has had premiers but their isn't release figures out there yet for the film overseas, also it hasn't been release at all into any of the high dollar markets...Iron Man 2 hit 624 mil worldwide, I wouldn't think that this movie, with the additional cast would underperform that...

Just to point out to..

Avengers HAS to do those big numbers as an almost gurantee becuase of how much money was spent on advertising and the film's total budget probably being at or plus 200 million.

Compare that to the Hunger games' 75 million in comparison.

Add in revenue from action figures, t-shirts, and advertising from cartoon viewership...and I think then we can see why Disney/Marvel spent so much.
Iger's franchise mentality pays off in this segment.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Avengers is very unique, so it's not really fair to compare it to its lead-in films. This isn't the fifth film in a series, it's the first film in its own series. In some ways, the other films have just been commercials for the Avengers. Commercials that each made hundreds of millions of dollars. I expect it to be BIG. I don't know what the Hollywood insiders forecast, but I see it as a billion dollar movie with 2/3 coming from overseas.

 

[misterID]

I'm not so sure. The highest grossing Marvel movie to date is Spider-Man, which obviously isn't part of The Avengers. I don't see many more people going to see this than Iron Man. That was the most successful "Avenger" movie, and it made $318 million. If you look at the other 3 "Avenger" movies, they've averaged $164 million. Now if you factor in how many of those people went to also see Iron Man, you probably have about $330 - $360 million.

People have been waiting for this movie for years. Ever since the first hidden teaser in Iron Man. The world wide box office is probably going to best the Iron Man films. It's like trying to predict how well The Dark Knight was going to do based on what Bateman Begins box office was. It wasn't even close.

I was shocked by how well Hunger Games did, as well.