While it’s not good form to revel in the misfortune of others (which pretty much means that I am about to do just that) I have to admit that hearing that Peter Berg’s “Battleship” looking very John Carter-ish makes me feel a bit better than it should.

First, it means that “The Avengers” continues to run riot over the box office, which is good for anyone who wants Joss Whedon to return for the sequel (and the hope that he doesn’t feel the need to kill anyone else off).

Second, there’s Universal, the studio that released ‘Battleship,’ passing on Guillermo Del Toro’s passion project, “At The Mountains of Madness,” which would have cost somewhere in the ballpark of $150 million.

Which is significantly less than the studio will probably lose over “Battleship” (which is assuming that ‘Madness’ would have been unsuccessful, which I doubt).