Ghostbusters isn’t performing at the summer box office how the studio had hoped, and now there are reports that Sony is quietly dropping plans for a sequel.
The Hollywood Reporter says Sony is expected to take a $70 million loss on Ghostbusters, which is no grounds to justify a second film. As of Sunday, August 7, the movie had made $180 million globally — $117 million of which came from the U.S.
This is not a great box office pull when you consider that the film had a $144 million production budget, much of which went into all those special effects toward the end. Comparatively, the original Ghostbusters was made on a $30 million budget (or $71 million after being adjusted for inflation).
If the studio really wanted to create a sequel, they could, as each of the stars — Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon — are reportedly optioned for two more Ghostbusters movies.
Instead of sequels to their live-action Ghostbusters, Sony is looking to fire up other projects in the world of ghost-busting. “[A] rep says the studio actively is pursuing an animated Ghostbusters feature that could hit theaters in 2019 and an animated TV series, Ghostbusters: Ecto Force, which is eyeing an early 2018 bow,” according to THR. “Both are being guided by Reitman, who firmly is back in charge of the Ghostbusters empire via Ghost Corps., a subsidiary with a mandate to expand the brand across platforms.”
For their part, Sony denies that there will be a $70 million loss. “This loss calculation is way off,” says a Sony rep to THR. “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.”
Supposed lifesavers include a recent surge in rentals of the original Ghostbusters from 1984 and merchandising.
Those people who made it their full-time job to hate on the new Ghostbusters must feel vindicated.