Why "Mars Needs Moms" Bombed - Part II

The disastrous opening of "Mars Needs Moms" is shaping up to be the big news in the movie industry this week, with extensive coverage of the "destruction", while not on par with that in Japan, that is getting widespread analysis. I've already pointed out an article that tried to analyze what went wrong with this movie. This article in the NY Times examines the same issue, but with deeper connection to Dick Cook's ouster from the movie division of the Walt Disney Company.

Disney closed ImageMovers Digital last March after Mr. Cook’s successor, Rich Ross, viewed footage of “Mars Needs Moms.” About two months ago, Disney quietly pulled the plug on what was to be Mr. Zemeckis’s next directing project there: “Yellow Submarine,” a 3-D adaptation of the 1968 Beatles cartoon.

The company decided to proceed with “Mars Needs Moms” in part because it had already spent so much on it and in part because some executives, notably ones left from the Cook era, acted as cheerleaders for the project.

It appears that a lot of people might be in a very uncomfortable position right now. The box office bomb from this movie could have a wider ramification beyond just the financial bottom line. However, let's not forget that under Dick Cook's watch, we also got many of this year's hit, such as Tangled, Alice, etc.

Can those hits be the salvation for how badly "Mars" will bomb, especially for the "cheerleaders" of this movie? We shall see.

Zz.