( EW.com ) -- Apparently the Truffula Valley is a much better training ground for the box office than Mars , as `` Dr. Seuss ' The Lorax '' had no trouble fending off Disney 's expensive new sci-fi arrival `` John Carter . '' Universal 's `` The Lorax '' dropped a relatively mild 44 percent for $ 39.1 million in its second weekend -- a drop that virtually replicates the second-weekend decline of 45 percent for 2008â€²s `` Dr. Seuss ' Horton Hears a Who ! '' Today `` The Lorax '' will pass `` The Vow '' to become the year 's top grosser , finishing the weekend with a cumulative tally of nearly $ 122 million in just 10 days . But the real story here , of course , is `` John Carter , '' which Disney infamously spent $ 250 million to produce . With that kind of price tag , `` Carter '' really needed to open to $ 50 million at a bare minimum . Other films that reportedly cost around $ 250 million include `` Spider-Man 3 , '' `` Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , '' `` Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides , '' and `` Avatar , '' and those four movies debuted to an average of $ 99 million . `` John Carter , '' on the other hand , collected an estimated $ 30.6 million this weekend . That 's slightly better than the $ 25 million or so that most in the industry were predicting , and would represent a solid start for many films . But it 's a dismal showing for such a costly project . Both the movie and its marketing campaign are to blame for the soft opening . The film , which garnered mixed reviews and marked the first live-action undertaking for Pixar 's Andrew Stanton ( `` Finding Nemo , '' `` WALL-E '' ) , is based on Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs ' 1917 book `` A Princess of Mars . '' That book was the first in a series of Barsoom sci-fi novels that later influenced films such as `` Star Wars '' and `` Avatar . '' However , since the general public is not overly familiar with the Barsoom works , `` John Carter '' appeared derivative of the very things it inspired . Also not helping the movie out was its cast , headed by an unproven Taylor Kitsch ( `` Friday Night Lights '' ) . True , `` Avatar '' featured the similarly untested Sam Worthington , but James Cameron 's name is as big as any movie star , and he at least surrounded Worthington with some familiar faces like Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez . The most familiar face in `` John Carter '' was ... Mark Strong ? But it 's really Disney 's marketing that performed a disservice to the movie . For months , `` John Carter '' suffered from muddled ads and trailers , none more misjudged than its Super Bowl commercial , which wrongly assumed audiences were so familiar with the `` John Carter '' brand that simply seeing the movie 's title would excite them . Also hurting matters was the generic title , which Disney shortened from `` John Carter of Mars '' with the reported belief that `` of Mars '' would turn off female moviegoers . But Mars is the project 's major selling point . Without it , the movie became a sphinx to the general public . Who is John Carter ? Where is he ? Why can he leap great distances ? I understand the desire to not reveal too much of a film 's story , but these are basic questions that were n't answered by Disney 's advertising until right before `` John Carter 's '' release . By then , it was too late . The film tilted toward men , whom Disney says comprised 63 percent of the audience . It also skewed a bit older than one might expect a PG-13 sci-fi adventure would , with 59 percent of the audience over age 25 . Showings in 3-D represented 64 percent of the movie 's gross . And audiences generally liked `` John Carter , '' with CinemaScore participants giving it a `` B+ '' rating . One CinemaScore finding is particularly worth noting : Only 8 percent of those polled said Taylor Kitsch was their reason for buying a ticket . Compare that number to 72 percent for `` Safe House '' star Denzel Washington . The week 's two other new releases , `` Silent House '' and `` A Thousand Words , '' did n't make much of an impression . `` Silent House , '' an R-rated shot-in-one-take horror flick starring Elizabeth Olsen , debuted to a quiet $ 7 million and virtually tied `` Act of Valor '' for fourth place . What it will be remembered for most , though , is its `` F '' CinemaScore rating . `` Silent House '' becomes the second film branded with the dreaded grade this year , joining `` The Devil Inside '' -- a CinemaScore `` F '' now seems specifically reserved for horror films with unsatisfying endings . `` A Thousand Words , '' which opened in sixth place with $ 6.4 million , was another misfire for star Eddie Murphy . The $ 40 million comedy was shot in 2008 and intended for a 2009 release , but was held up for three years when DreamWorks split from Paramount . Now , it has the distinction of joining Murphy 's other recent flops : 2008â€²s `` Meet Dave '' and 2009â€²s `` Imagine That , '' which debuted to $ 5.3 million and $ 5.5 million , respectively . Among holdovers , the R-rated teen party flick `` Project X '' fared surprisingly well , slipping only 45 percent for $ 11.6 million . That duplicates the trajectory of `` Chronicle , '' another `` found-footage '' film starring teenagers , which dropped 45 percent its second weekend . And `` Act of Valor '' fell 48 percent for $ 7 million in its third weekend , pushing its total gross to $ 56.1 million . In limited release , the R-rated ensemble comedy `` Friends With Kids , '' starring Adam Scott , Jennifer Westfeldt , Megan Fox , and a quarter of `` Bridesmaids '' alums ( Kristen Wiig , Maya Rudolph , Jon Hamm , and Chris O'Dowd ) , had a so-so debut with $ 2.2 million from 374 theaters . That equates to a per-location average of $ 5,799 . The Ewan McGregor-Emily Blunt romantic dramedy `` Salmon Fishing in the Yemen '' reeled in $ 240,000 at 18 theaters , while the Oscar-nominated Israeli drama `` Footnote '' took in $ 48,100 at two locations . 1 . `` Dr. Seuss ' The Lorax '' -- $ 39.1 mil . 2 . `` John Carter '' -- $ 30.6 mil . 3 . `` Project X '' -- $ 11.6 mil . 4 . `` Silent House '' -- $ 7.0 mil . 4 . `` Act of Valor '' -- $ 7.0 mil . 6 . `` A Thousand Words '' -- $ 6.4 mil . See the full article at EW.com . CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved .
Universal 's `` The Lorax '' dropped a relatively mild 44 percent for $ 39.1 million . `` John Carter '' collected an estimated $ 30.6 million this weekend . In addition to the new films, there were also several other notable releases over the weekend.