Dog's dinner: Disney expected to lose £39m after The Call of the Wild flops at the box office

High production costs mean Disney is likely to struggle to recoup its investment

Disney‘s Jack London adaptation The Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford, is predicted to make a loss of $50m (£39m) after a disappointing box office opening.

The film has already made $45m (£35m) in the US and $79m (£62m) globally, but Variety estimates that it will still fail to break even by a long distance.

With the cost of production rising above $125m (£98m), The Call of the Wild would need to earn more than $250m (£196m) in order to make its money back.

The Call of the Wild tells the story of John Thornton, played by Ford, and his dog, Buck.

Buck was created entirely using CGI, which accounts for a significant portion of the film’s production budget.

With a supporting cast that includes Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) and Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), The Call of the Wild opened to mixed reviews.

Disney has had a number of high-profile box office hits over the past few years, including 2019’s record-breaking Avengers: Endgame. The company has also presided over some recent flops, however, including animated children’s romp Spies in Disguise and X-men: Dark Phoenix.