Disney drops Jerry Bruckheimer after Lone Ranger failure
The movie studio has announced it will not renew its first look deal with the man behind the hugely successful 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise when his contract with the company ends next year.
The news follows the failure of recently released Western epic 'The Lone Ranger', which is thought to have lost Disney an eye-watering $200 million.
Disney chairman Alan Horn said in a statement: "Jerry is one of the most respected and prolific producers working in the motion picture industry, and we have had an incredibly successful collaboration over the past two decades and he is a friend to many of us here at Disney. We will continue to work together in the future, and we look forward to seeing more of the films that have made Jerry Bruckheimer a Hollywood legend."
The studio added it will now put its efforts into its own in-house production companies: Pixar, Marvel and the recently acquired Lucasfilm.
Blockbuster producer Bruckheimer has produced some of Hollywood's top franchises through Disney, including 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and the 'National Treasure' series.
The two sides will continue to work together on a fifth 'Pirates' movie starring Johnny Depp, as well as a third 'National Treasure' movie with Nicolas Cage in the lead.
'The Lone Ranger', which starred Depp and Armie Hammer, flopped at the box office over the summer, grossing $244 million worldwide on a $215 million budget. The film failed to top $100 million in the United States.
