The Lone Ranger 2013 One of Johnny Depp Biggest Bombs

‘Despicable Me 2’

Despicable Me 2 easily tops domestic box office as ‘The Lone Ranger’ 2013 bombs

July 8 update: Here’s a quick rundown of the July 5-7 weekend’s top twelve movies at the North American box office, according to studio estimates found at Boxofficemojo.com. As expected, the $76 million-budgeted Despicable Me 2, featuring the voices of Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig, easily topped the chart with $82.51 million and a five-day cume of $142.07 million. Universal’s animated 3D feature was followed – at a very distant second – by Disney’s The Lone Ranger. Directed by Gore Verbinski, and starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, the $215 million-budgeted comic Western in the style of the Pirates of the Caribbean series took in $29.43 million for a highly disappointing five-day cume of $48.93 million. (Image: Despicable Me 2.)

At no. 3, Paul Feig’s buddy comedy The Heat, starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, raked in $25 million, down an okay 36 percent and cuming at $86.39 million after ten days. Facing stiff competition from Despicable Me 2, Monsters University was down a whopping 57 percent, earning $19.59 million, for a cume of $216.12 million. Monsters University – not Despicable Me 2, as stated in the original version of this post – features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Helen Mirren.

World War Z passes $150 million milestone

At no. 5, Marc Forster / Brad Pitt’s World War Z grossed $18.2 million, down 39 percent, cuming at $158.75 million – thus passing the $150 million milestone. The zombie flick was followed by Roland Emmerich’s costly actioner White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, which grossed $13.5 million, cuming at $50.47 million.

Zack Snyder / Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel was no. 6 on the domestic chart, with $11,41 million, down 45 percent after losing 1,226 locations. The Superman reboot’s cume currently stands at $271.2 million. New entry Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was no. 8, with $10.1 million, and a five-day cume of $17.46 million.

Rounding out the top twelve at the domestic box office were the following movies: James Franco / Jay Baruchel’s This is the End with $5.8 million, and a cume of $85.55 million; Jesse Eisenberg’s Now You See Me with $2.77 million, and a cume of $110.41 million; Chris Pine / Zachary Quinto’s Star Trek: Into Darkness with $1.31 million, and a cume of $223.06 million; and Paul Walker / Vin Diesel’s Fast & Furious 6 with $1.02 million, and a cume of $235.43 million.

Despicable Me 2 image: Universal Pictures.

July 7

The Pirates of the Caribbean team is back with The Lone Ranger: that’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, actor Johnny Depp, and distributor Disney. But whereas Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the White Pearl, co-starring Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom, was a major domestic box office hit, opening with $46.63 million at 3,269 locations in early July 2003 (approximately $61 million today) and going on to gross $305.41 million in North America (approximately $402 million today), The Lone Ranger is bound to become one of the biggest domestic box office flops of 2013 in relation to its exorbitant $215 million production budget, alongside several other costly underperformers at the North American box office: M. Night Shyamalan / Will Smith’s After Earth, Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, John Moore / Bruce Willis’ A Good Day to Die Hard, and Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Slayer.

According to studio estimates found at Boxofficemojo.com, The Lone Ranger, which pairs up a heavily madeup Johnny Depp as Tonto with The Social Network‘s Armie Hammer in the title role, has taken in a meager $30.16 million from 3,904 North American locations in its first three days out. On Friday, early estimates found at Deadline.com foresaw a $13 million gross that day; instead, The Lone Ranger collected $10.65 million, a mere 8 percent increase from the previous day.

Among the top eight movies at the domestic box office, The Lone Ranger was the only title with a single-digit surge on Friday. For comparison’s sake: Despicable Me 2 was up 23 percent to $30.2 million (more than The Lone Ranger‘s three-day cume) and probably somewhere around $140 million by Sunday evening; the Sandra Bullock / Melissa McCarthy buddy movie The Heat was up 35 percent to $8.6 million; and Marc Forster / Brad Pitt’s zombie flick World War Z was up a whopping 47 percent. Even Sony Pictures’ domestic box office bomb White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, was up 31 percent, while the stand-up comedy movie Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain was up 44 percent. (Needless to say, the Kevin Hart movie, which may gross around $16 million by Sunday evening, has zero chances of international success – in fact, the film will be lucky if it finds distribution outside North America.)

The Lone Ranger weekend box office estimates

Disney was reportedly expecting at the very least $65 million over The Lone Ranger‘s first five days in the U.S. and Canada. With luck, The Lone Ranger will reach $50 million – though $46–$48 million is a more likely scenario. If that sounds bad, expect things to get even worse once Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim opens next weekend, followed by Dean Parisot’s Red 2 a week later.

So, don’t be too surprised if The Lone Ranger ends its domestic run with less than $120 million. If so, the best thing that can be said about Disney’s investment (in relation to the domestic box office) is that The Lone Ranger didn’t turn out to be as much of a disaster as, say, Andrew Stanton / Taylor Kitsch’s John Carter ($250 million budget; $73.1 million domestic gross) or Robert Zemeckis’ Mars Needs Moms ($150 million budget; $21.4 million domestic gross*).

Also worth remembering is that Westerns are notorious box office underperformers outside the United States. Recent examples include Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig’s Cowboys & Aliens, with $74.6 million internationally (vs. $100.2 million in North America); and Joel and Ethan Coen’s True Grit, with a not insignificant $79.9 million internationally most likely thanks to Jeff Bridges’ Best Actor Oscar (vs. $171.2 million domestically). A major exception to this rule is Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Featuring major international box office draw Leonardo DiCaprio, Tarantino’s Best Picture Oscar-nominated quasi-Western raked in $261.2 million internationally (vs. $162.8 million domestically).

Sunday, July 7, 2013, update: Despicable Me 2 grossed an estimated $142.1 million in its first five days, followed by The Lone Ranger with $48.9 million. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain took in $17.5 million. Weekend box office actuals will be released on Monday.

Johnny Depp to save The Lone Ranger at international box office?

As explained in my previous The Lone Ranger box office article, the film’s key chance of becoming an international box office hit lies with Johnny Depp, who remains a top international box office magnet. Whereas Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows bombed in the U.S. and Canada, grossing a paltry $79.7 million, it was a solid hit elsewhere, collecting $165.8 million. Co-starring Penélope Cruz, Rob Marshall’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was the weakest domestic performer among the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, earning $241.1 million; internationally, however, On Stranger Tides scored an astonishing $802.8 million. Even Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s widely lambasted (and Golden Globe-nominated) The Tourist, co-starring Angelina Jolie, brought in $210.7 million internationally after collecting a meager $67.6 million domestically.

Of note: Gore Verbinski’s previous Western, the animated feature Rango, featured Johnny Depp’s voice on the English-language soundtrack. Rango collected $123.5 million* domestically and a slightly more modest $122.2 million* elsewhere.

International box office estimates for The Lone Ranger will be available on Sunday. The film has opened in about two dozen international territories this week, including Russia, Italy, South Korea, and Australia.

I should add that Disney’s domestic disaster John Carter performed admirably internationally, grossing $209.7 million.

The Lone Ranger movie cast

Besides Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer in the title role, The Lone Ranger features Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter (one of Depp’s co-stars in Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Dark Shadows), James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Harry Treadaway, Mason Elston Cook, James Frain, JD Cullum, Barry Pepper, Saginaw Grant, Damon Herriman, Gil Birmingham, Damon Carney, and Stephen Root. Justin Haythe is credited alongside Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio for the film’s screenplay.

The Lone Ranger is beset with a disastrous 11 percent approval rating and 4.2/10 average among Rotten Tomatoes‘ top critics.

The Lone Ranger photo featuring Johnny Depp as Tonto, Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger: Walt Disney Studios.

July 5

The best thing that can be said about Disney spending $200+ million on the 2013 movie The Lone Ranger – not including another $100 million or so in marketing / distribution costs – is that the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Gore Verbinski-directed comic Western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer didn’t cost $250 million like the studio’s 2012 box office bomb John Carter.

Currently with a dismal 11 percent approval rating and 4.2/10 average among Rotten Tomatoes’ top critics, The Lone Ranger collected an abysmal – in relation to its exorbitant costs – $9.65 million on opening day, Wednesday, July 3, at 3,904 North American locations, in addition to another $9.85 million on the July 4 holiday. The Lone Ranger‘s two-day total is $19.5 million, which will, according to early, rough Friday estimates found at Deadline.com, add an extra $13 million today.

If Deadline’s early Friday estimates are on target, that means The Lone Ranger will have grossed about $32 million after three days, and, barring a major Saturday surge, somewhere around $50 million in its first five days out. Sounds bad? It gets worse when you realize that the blow ’em-up crowd will be flocking to Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim next weekend and, possibly, to Dean Parisot’s Red 2 the following weekend.

Not to mention the critical fact that Westerns are notorious underperformers outside the United States (and possibly Canada), e.g., Harrison Ford / Daniel Craig’s Cowboys & Aliens’ $74.58 million internationally (vs. $100.24 million in North America), and Joel and Ethan Coen’s True Grit‘s $79.88 million (vs. $171.24 million domestically). A major exception to the anti-Western rule: Quentin Tarantino’s quasi-Western Django Unchained, featuring major international box office draw Leonardo DiCaprio, which collected $261.17 million internationally (vs. $162.8 million domestically).

Johnny Depp to save The Lone Ranger at international box office?

The Lone Ranger‘s only hope of becoming an international box office hit is if Disney focuses the film’s marketing on explosions and Johnny Depp, who remains a top box office draw around the world. Whereas Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows bombed in North America, with $79.72 million, it was a sizable hit elsewhere, collecting $165.8 million. Co-starring Penélope Cruz, Rob Marshall’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was the weakest domestic performer among the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, collecting $241.07 million; yet, internationally it earned an astounding $802.8 million. Even Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s widely lambasted The Tourist, co-starring Angelina Jolie, raked in $210.71 million internationally after scoring a paltry $67.63 million in North America.

As an aside, directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring Johnny Depp’s voice (at least on English-language soundtracks), the animated Western Rango earned $123.47 million in the U.S. and Canada and a slightly more modest $121.89 million internationally. Disney must be ardently praying that The Lone Ranger will perform much closer to Django than to Rango.

We’ll find out in the next couple of days how The Lone Ranger is performing at the international box office, as the Johnny Depp Western has opened in about a couple of dozen territories this week.

Despicable Me 2 box office

Of note, Universal’s Despicable Me 2 brought in an estimated $58.8 million from 3,957 theaters on Wednesday and Thursday, and may reach $135-140 million by Sunday evening if Deadline’s early Friday estimates are on target. The weekend’s no. 3 movie should be Sandra Bullock / Melissa McCarthy’s The Heat, which earned approximately $11.5 million on Wed/Thu – and was up 21 percent on the 4th.

Also of note, Monsters University will undoubtedly cross the $200 million mark at the domestic box office today. Its cume up to Thursday was $196.53 million.

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer topline The Lone Ranger cast

Besides Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer in the title role, The Lone Ranger features William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter (one of Depp’s co-stars in Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Dark Shadows), James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Barry Pepper, Mason Elston Cook, JD Cullum, Saginaw Grant, Harry Treadaway, James Frain, Damon Herriman, Gil Birmingham, Damon Carney, and Stephen Root. Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio are credited for the film’s screenplay.

Despicable Me 2 voice cast

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, the Despicable Me 2 voice cast includes Kristen Wiig, Steve Carell, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Ken Jeong, Steve Coogan, Elsie Kate Fisher, Dana Gaier, Moises Arias, Nasim Pedrad, Kristen Schaal, and Coffin and Renaud.

The Lone Ranger photo featuring Johnny Depp as Tonto, Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger: Walt Disney Studios.