Skip to content
Entertainment
Link copied to clipboard

"Carter" Piggybacks on "Avengers" Bonanza

"Avengers" Applies Paddles to Lifeless Body of "John Carter"

"Avengers" massive $200 million haul was the talk of the box office this week, obscuring the mystery of the sudden rebound in the numbers for notorious bomb "John Carter."

"Carter" actually added 169 theaters last week, unheard of for a movie that's been in theaters this long, and performed this badly. The cynic in me wondered if Disney pushed "Carter" into theaters, knowing that overflow, turn-away crowds from "Avengers" shows might see it out of sheer desperation. "John Carter: Because Everything Else Is Sold Out."

Turns out, according to THR, Disney had paired "JC" with "Avengers" on old-fashioned double bills at drive-in theaters in places that still have them. The bookings helped "John Carter" earn another mollion or so, and bumped it past the $70 million mark, which just about covers the catering bills.

More shrewd corporate synergy from Disney, the same sort of thing you saw last night on Disney owned "Modern Family," when the cast visited a Disney owned theme park, and the broadcast included a commercial for the new Cars World exhibit, based on the Pixar movies.