20th Century Studios and Disney Pictures’ new “Call of the Wild” film is proving to be a real dog at the box-office.
The latest adaptation of the gamed Jack London novel has made $45 million in the U.S. and $79 million globally after two weeks in theaters. However, with the film coming in at a costly production budget of $125 million and even with reduced marketing spend, the movie needs at least $275 million to break even – a figure it’s unlikely to reach – especially with coronavirus closing theaters in may key global markets.
As a result, the film is expected to lose around $50 million, though co-financier TSG will feel some of the pain. Disney’s run with Fox titles has so far yielded mostly disappointments with “Dark Phoenix” a flat out bomb, while holiday titles “Underwater” and “Spies in Disguise” both disappointed.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, though audiences were more forgiving with an A- score. The larger than expected budget is due mostly to a large number of visual effects including the main character – a dog named Buck who is entirely computer-animated.
Source: Variety
