Four weeks ago, confidence was high in the Sony camp thanks to the relative success of Ghostbusters. So much so that the studio’s Rory Bruer – president of worldwide distribution at Sony – believed a sequel was a no-brainer, while producer Amy Pascal was similarly bullish in her forecast, claiming audiences would want “more and more” once the credits rolled on Paul Feig’s spooky, gender-swapped reboot.
But the fate of the purported live-action Ghostbusters universe has been called into question. Now that Feig’s feature is approaching the end of its theatrical run, Sony brass are beginning to form a clearer picture of how it fared at the international box office. Spoilers: it’s not good.
[zergpaid]Despite a production budget of $144 million coupled with a notable marketing surge prior to release, experts claim that Ghostbusters will struggle to break past $225 million worldwide. Should that estimation hold true, Sony’s lavish reboot is heading for a $70 million loss, effectively placing the sequel “on ice” for the foreseeable future.
“Ghostbusters is on ice until further notice,” says box-office analyst Jeff Bock. “I just can’t fathom the creative talents behind it — Feig, McCarthy, Wiig, etc. — slogging out another one when the reception to the first one was so mediocre.”
Responding to that financial forecast, a representative from Sony told THR that the loss calculation is “way off.”
“This loss calculation is way off. With multiple revenue streams, including consumer products, gaming, location-based entertainment, continued international rollout, and huge third-party promotional partnerships that mitigated costs, the bottom line, even before co-financing, is not remotely close to that number.”
At the time of writing, Sony is yet to comment on the fate of that Ghostbusters sequel. Will it continue to languish in the netherworld? Or can the studio defy the odds and reunite Paul Feig and his ‘Busters for another whirl? Let us know what you think by commenting below.