SUNDAY UPDATE: “Morty” did only $4.1 mil, it was much less than the low number previously predicted. This movie is a huge money loser for someone, namely Lion’s Gate, which I guess can hide it under The Hunger Games or Twilight accounting.

EARLIER: “Mortdecai” is loosely translated into “10 deaths.” That’s an understatement. Johnny Depp’s terrible comedy marks his lowest wide release opening since 1999’s “Astronaut’s Wife”– that’s excluding limited releases of smaller non tentpole movies like “Finding Neverland” (a hit ultimately), “The Libertine” (a disaster), and “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” (a daffodil in the wind, box office wise).

“Morty” made $1.6 million on Friday night by estimates, and looks to score just $4.4 million for the weekend– and that’s being nice since snow will impede box office traffic tonight (Saturday) and possibly tomorrow.

David Koepp, a very talented, highly successful screenwriter and nice guy, directed this romp that co-stars Ewan McGregor and Gwyneth Paltrow. That’s three big stars who are now saddled with some of the worst reviews ever posted. Koepp doesn’t have a great track record as a director. It’s one thing to try a small indie film, but this kind of thing, at over $70 million? Maybe not such a good idea. Why doesn’t Johnny Depp work with name directors? This remains a mystery.

Anyway, “Morty” has suffered 12 deaths this weekend. More on the box office later…