Pan Could Lose $150 Million

Warner Brothers was so preoccupied with whether or not they could make a big-budget live-action prequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that they didn't stop to think if they should.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. could be in for a $130 million to $150 million loss from Pan, which was directed by Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice) and starred Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine). The film made its debut this weekend and only grossed $15.3M domestically and $20.4M internationally (54 markets).

How did THR come to their figure? Pan's production budget is estimated to be $150M and THR assumes $125M was spent on marketing, which means it cost WB as much as $275M in total. THR adds, "It will see returns of about $135 million between film box-office returns (or film rentals) and ancillary revenues, including home entertainment and television deals, according to rough calculations by insiders." However, to do so Pan would have to at least reach $150M at the worldwide box office.

Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, the action adventure follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.