Lone Ranger to cost Disney $190m

Walt Disney today admitted that it could lose up to $190 million (£122.8m) this year on Lone Ranger, its summer blockbuster that bombed at the US box office and which opens in the UK tomorrow.

Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger. Picture: PA

Expectations are low for the remake of the classic western, starring Johnny Depp as Tonto, which opened in North America with a dismal $29m in ticket sales over its first weekend.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger defended big budget “tent pole films” despite the risk of flops.

Disney’s pre-tax profit for the quarter rose by 1 per cent to $1.8 billion.