How much will Disney lose on all their ridiculous Lone Ranger merchandise?

The poor performance of Disney’s summer Lone Ranger movie will cost the company between $160 million and $190 million in losses during the current quarter, the company’s CFO said on Tuesday, as reported by Investor Place.

But never mind what they blew on the movie – what about all the ridiculous Lone Ranger merchandise?  They really went way overboard!  The Lone Ranger was rated PG-13, which cut out a lot of family audiences, and post-release audience demographics showed that the movie was mostly popular with people over 50, yet Disney made a ton of Lone Ranger toys and other products for kids.  What were Disney’s merchandisers smoking?

Disney’s arch-enemy, Universal Pictures, launches a big dud in R.I.P.D.

Disney had to suffer a few weeks ago while their Lone Ranger movie flopped and their arch-enemies at Universal Studios raked in the cash from their summer blockbuster, Despicable Me 2.

Now the shoe is on the other foot as Universal Pictures has launched perhaps the biggest dud of the summer – R.I.P.D, the $130-million action-comedy grossed just $12.8 million, only good enough for a seventh-place finish, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Universal’s Minions are trouncing Disney’s Lone Ranger

One thing you must know about the Disney Company’s executives is that they absolutely hate Universal Studios.  The two companies compete on every level. They both make movies and TV shows.  They both own TV Networks (ABC and NBC).  And they both own amusement parks.

This 4th of July weekend their competition started up again as they both launched summer blockbusters, but while Universal’s Despicable Me 2 is blowing up at the box office, Disney’s Lone Ranger is tanking.

Here is what the media is reporting about their respective box office returns:

Disney’s $250M Lone Ranger movie could be as big a bust as John Carter

“The Lone Ranger” can’t seem to ride away from scathing reviews from critics, with some comparing it to Will Smith’s 1999 epic disaster, “Wild Wild West,” according to CBS.

The $250,000,000 film is currently hovering at 22% on film review site Rotten Tomatoes, according to the Business Insider.

Cal/OSHA fines Disney Studios after man dies on Lone Ranger set

“State regulators have fined a producer of the upcoming Walt Disney Studios movie “The Lone Ranger” more than $60,000, citing numerous safety violations in connection with a crew member who died at a movie ranch in Acton,” according to the L.A. Times.

A welder/water safety expert named Mike Bridger died on the L.A. movie set Friday while working inside a large water tank. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that it appeared Bridger suffered a heart attack.