Disney faces writedown as "Lone Ranger" flops Walt Disney looks set for a writedown of at least $100m after the dismal opening weekend performance of The Lone Ranger, its big-budget summer movie. The film had a production budget of $250m, with Disney also spending more than $100m on marketing. But despite the presence of Johnny Depp, one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, it failed to catch the attention of US audiences, earning only $48.9m over the long July 4 weekend. Analysts at Cowen and Company predict a minimum writedown of $100m by Disney, the second year in which a box-office flop has hit the studio. The company took a $200m writedown in 2012 after the flop of John Carter, another big-budget mistake. Disney said it was "obviously disappointed" by the performance of The Lone Ranger. The latest misstep will be cushioned by the success of Iron Man 3, which has earned $1.2bn in worldwide box-office receipts. Last year the global success of The Avengers offset losses associated with John Carter. But the failure of The Lone Ranger raises questions for Disney about the risks associated with big-budget movies - and its relationship with Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the film. The Top Gun producer has had a long association with Disney, producing the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean series. However, he has stumbled recently, making flops such as The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Prince of Persia for the studio. Disney, like other studios, is making fewer movies but taking bigger bets on sequels to previous hits, or films based on characters or properties, such as toys, books or games, that are already well known to audiences. Sony Pictures has also endured two flops this year - first with After Earth, a costly science fiction film starring the usually reliable Will Smith, and White House Down, the second action film this year to depict terrorists storming the presidential residence. The big summer winner in Hollywood has been Universal Studios, which is owned by Comcast, the biggest cable operator in the US. It scored this weekend with Despicable Me 2, an animated children's film which took $142m, close to double its $75m production budget. The studio has had a bumper summer thanks to the success of Fast & Furious 6 and The Purge, marking a return to form following last year's big budget disappointment Battleship. It is also in production on the film adaptation of the bestselling 50 Shades trilogy.