They weren’t afraid of no sequels… until now!
When Ghostbusters hit theaters last month, executives at Sony were confident that a sequel to Paul Feig‘s all-female reboot would be inevitable.
But since the film was met with a lukewarm box office performance and just fair-to-middling reviews, the studio has kept quiet on if it was still launching a live-action Ghostbusters universe as planned.
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As of August 7, the Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy led film earned just under $180 at the worldwide box office.
And though the action-comedy has still yet to open in a few countries, experts say it will have a tough time getting to the $300 million mark, which is what it will reportedly need to break-even with the hefty production and marketing budget.
As for the potential loss (an estimated $70 million) looming over the future of the live-action franchise, Sony insists that revenue streams from merchandise and theme park attractions will make up for any steep deficits.
A studio rep explained to The Hollywood Reporter:
“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.”
Sony hasn’t revealed whether a sequel is totally off the table, but a rep curiously revealed that the studio is actively pursuing an animated Ghostbusters feature for 2019. Oh?
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Not only that, but the studio is also developing an animated TV series Ghostbusters: Ecto Force slated for an early 2018 premiere — both of these projects are being guided by Ivan Reitman, who helmed the original 1984 film.
So, it sounds like while the studio isn’t totally taking a female-led sequel off the table, it’s definitely exploring other ways to resurrect the Ghostbusters universe — which may or (more likely) may not include the feminist punch of Feig’s summer block-bust.
Do YOU want a Ghostbusters sequel with McCarthy & Co.?
[Image via Sony Pictures.]
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