Disney announces US$75m loss on 'The Finest Hours'

[LOS ANGELES] Disney chief Bob Iger said on Tuesday the company expected to lose US$75 million on the poorly performing ocean rescue film The Finest Hours, making it one of the company's costliest flops.

The movie, which stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana, has grossed US$40.5 million worldwide since its Jan 29 release, according to Box Office Mojo.

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet and Telecom Conference in Palm Beach, Florida, the Walt Disney Company chief executive and chairman revealed that return on capital investment in movies was up from 10 per cent five years ago to almost 30 per cent in 2015.

But he added: "We also had a miss this quarter, in The Finest Hours, which is a live-action film, and actually that will impact the quarter that we're in, the results we announce in May, to the negative of about US$75 million."

Based on The Finest Hours: The True Story of the US Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael Tougias and Casey Sherman, the film scored an average rating of 6.1 out of 10 on critics aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

"Old-fashioned to a fault, The Finest Hours will satisfy those seeking a traditional rescue drama - but may leave more adventurous viewers wanting more," the site's critical consensus said.

Mr Iger pointed out that Disney has a big few months ahead, with the upcoming releases of live-action films Jungle Book and Alice Through the Looking Glass as well as Pixar's Finding Dory and Marvel's three-quel Captain America: Civil War.

"So we have a tremendous slate this year. I've seen each one of those films and they're really in good shape," he said.

Disney has made several big-budget flops over the years, including The Lone Ranger, Prince of Persia and John Carter, but it is rare for even the worst-performing films to fail to break even.

It is notoriously difficult to tell which Hollywood disasters lost the most money, but most compilers list 1999 historical action movie The 13th Warrior and 2013 adventure fantasy 47 Ronin near the top of the pile.

Both are credited with losing more than US$100 million, adjusted for inflation.

AFP