By Dominic Rushe

Mars Needs Moms, according to the title of Disney’s latest foray into 3D animation, but this weekend the “House of Mouse” would settle for a few moms closer to home. Sadly for Disney, last weekend was one of the most embarrassing in recent years for the company: its new $150m movie took just $6.9m in ticket sales.

All is not well in movieland. So far this year, US ticket sales are running 20% behind where they were in the first quarter of 2010 – $1.6bn (£995m) against $2bn. While supporters point out this is a tough comparison – Avatar, the most successful film of all time, was still raking in cash a year ago – attendances have been in steady decline since 2002. Audiences have slipped away as the internet, video on demand, home movie systems and the recession have all taken their toll. Moreover, this year has been further marred by a plethora of 3D turkeys.

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