'Despicable' minions upset Depp's 'Lone Ranger' at box office

Depp attends premiere of 'The Long Ranger' in California

Sandra Bullock promotes 'The Heat' in Berlin

Brad Pitt promotes 'World War Z' in Sydney

'Monsters University' premieres in Hollywood

"The Lone Ranger" cost Disney $225 million to produce plus at least $100 million for marketing. The poor opening raises the possibility that the movie could saddle the media giant with a loss on the film, which is an action remake of a 1930s radio show and a 1950s TV series set in the Old West.

Armie Hammer plays John Reid, the lawman who becomes the masked Lone Ranger to fight injustice with his partner Tonto.

"Obviously this is disappointing," said Dave Hollis, vice president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios. "It obviously didn't connect with audiences, and it's frustrating for us. We felt we had everything in place for it to succeed."

"The Lone Ranger" added $24.3 million from international theaters during the weekend, bringing its global take to $73.2 million through Sunday, Disney said.

Hollis said it was still "a little too early to tell just yet" whether the film might eventually be profitable with the bulk of its international openings still to come.

"When the analysts started adding up the numbers and the critics began posting negative reviews, the movie struggled to get out of the gate," explained Paul Dergarabedian, head of Hollywood.com's box office division.

A Disney hit, animated prequel "Monsters University" from the company's Pixar studio, finished the weekend in fourth place, grabbing $19.6 million for the weekend. Its global total topped $400 million through Sunday.

The female buddy comedy "The Heat," starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, took the No. 3 slot pulling in $25 million, while the Brad Pitt zombie thriller "World War Z" earned $18.2 million to finish in fifth place.

"The Heat" was released by the 20th Century Fox studio, a unit of 21st Century Fox. "World War Z" was distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

Related:

Depp puts Tonto at center stage in 'Lone Ranger'

Depp attends premiere of 'The Long Ranger' in California