FILM FANATIC

When a movie that cost $150 million to make earns less than $7 million in its opening weekend, heads usually roll.

From Brandon Gray's analysis at BoxOfficeMojo.com:

"Mars Needs Moms" was an utter disaster, eking out just $6.9 million on around 4,400 screens at 3,117 locations (including 2,440 3D venues that accounted for over two thirds of business) or just over a quarter of "Gnomeo and Juliet's" opening last month. That was the third least-attended launch for a Disney animated movie on record (only "Ponyo" and "Teacher's Pet" were less popular) and the lowest debut yet for a broadly-released modern 3D-animated movie, replacing "Alpha and Omega" for the dishonor. Sci-fi animation can be a tough sell, yet Mars still had one of the sub-genre's weakest launches ever, selling fewer tickets than even "Planet 51," "Space Chimps" and "Astro Boy." "Mars" was severely limited by its premise, which was better suited to a television cartoon, and its execution looked awkward, incoherent and creepy in the marketing. Mom appreciation was presumably the movie's point, but mom was minimized in the ads in favor of a random wild ride, featuring Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not to Come" in a feeble attempt to connect with older adults.

Read more about the weekend's box office here.