Production Budget: $250,000,000 Worldwide Gross: $260,502,115 Estimated Losses: $119,748,943 The fact that The Lone Ranger even got made is surprising in itself. The film was a dream project for Johnny Depp, who wanted to star as The Lone Ranger's Native American sidekick Tonto. After Depps success with Pirates of the Caribbean films, Disney executives must have felt that they owed him one. However, even before the film went into production Disney put the brakes on the project because of its ballooning budget. Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer worked out the issues, but the film still reportedly cost $250 million in production costs alone. On top of that, the production faced problems with bad weather, a chickenpox outbreak, and the death of a crew member. The film was also up against a public that wasn't particularly interested in a big-budget Lone Ranger movie despite Depp's popularity. Disney reportedly spent over $100 million on marketing the movie including spending millions on a Super Bowl commercial but the film immediately underperformed amid terrible reviews. Afterwards, Bruckheimer and Disney ended their long-term partnership. Depp later claimed that reviewers had an underhanded agenda against the film, but it's more accurate to say that his dream project was really just a nightmare.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
