'Carter's' underwhelming debut

Disney announced that "John Carter" already posted the biggest opening day ever in Russia with a projected $ 6.5 million.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• "John Carter" earned an underwhelming $ 500,000 at midnight showings


• It's still way too early to tell, as midnight figures cannot be entirely trusted


• The movie will likely find a bit more love overseas

() -- Disney's $ 250 million sci-fi epic "" earned an underwhelming $ 500,000 at midnight showings, the studio confirmed.

According to Disney, that figure is in line with what 2010′s "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" earned. That movie, also a costly adventure flick, wound up debuting to $ 30.1 million -- and Disney would really like to see a "3″ in front of John Carter's weekend gross.

But it's still way too early to tell, as midnight figures cannot be entirely trusted. After all, just last Friday, "Project X" took in $ 1.2 million at midnight screenings en route to a $ 21.1 million weekend. Admittedly, "Project X" is a more midnight-friendly movie than "," but then consider last year's action fantasy Immortals, which grossed $ 1.4 million at midnight showings and finished its first weekend with $ 32.2 million.

However "John Carter" performs this weekend (we're predicting a $ 26 million debut), overseas. Disney announced that the film already posted the biggest opening day ever in Russia with a projected $ 6.5 million.