John Carter

John Carter is a 2012 American science fantasy film directed by Andrew Stanton; adapted from the first book in the fictional Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs entitled, A Princess of Mars. The film chronicles the first interplanetary adventure of John Carter, portrayed by actor Taylor Kitsch. The motion picture marks the centennial of the character's first appearance. The film is the live-action debut for writer and director Stanton; his previous directorial work includes the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008). Co-written by Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon, it was produced by Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, and Lindsey Collins. The film score was orchestrated by musician Michael Giacchino and released by Walt Disney Records on March 6, 2012. The ensemble cast also features actress Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, and Willem Dafoe.

Filming began in November 2009 with principal photography underway in January 2010, wrapping seven months later in July 2010. The film was a production of the motion picture studio Walt Disney Pictures. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, while the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment division released the film in the home media market. John Carter explores extraterrestrial life, science fiction and civil war. Following its wide release in theaters, the film failed to garner any award nominations for its acting or production merits from accredited film organizations. With its initial foray into the home media marketplace; the widescreen DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film featuring deleted scenes, the filmmaking process, and director's commentary among other highlights was released in the United States on June 5, 2012.

Walt Disney Pictures released John Carter in the United States on March 9, 2012; the film was shown in regular 2D and in the Disney Digital 3D as well as IMAX 3D formats. Upon release, John Carter received a mixed critical reception and performed poorly at the domestic box office, although it did show strength overseas, particularly in Russia where it set box office records. Disney attributed the $160 million swing from profit to loss in its Studio Entertainment division in the quarter ending March 2012 "primarily" to the performance of John Carter. Given its marketing and production costs, the film was largely considered a box office bomb. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com noted, "John Carter’s bloated budget would have required it to generate worldwide tickets sales of more than US$600-million to break even, ... a height reached by only 63 films in the history of moviemaking.