The feminist-friendly remake of Ghostbusters is set for losses of $70 million with original plans for a sequel now likely to be scrapped, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed.
The film has grossed $180 million globally, with box office experts estimating that it will struggle to reach a $225 million total. Sony, the studio behind the film, previously said that for the film to break-even would require revenue of $300 million.
Should the sequel fall through, it would prove a significant embarrassment for Sony executives, with Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at Sony, stating on the film’s release that “while nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen.” No talk of a sequel has been mentioned since. Instead, a Sony rep told The Hollywood Reporter that “the studio actively is pursuing an animated Ghostbusters feature that could hit theaters in 2019 and an animated TV series.”
Other failures surrounding the movie include the film opening to empty theatres across the US, official merchandise being placed on clearance sale racks before the film was even released, and developers of the official Ghostbusters video game filing for bankruptcy just three days after the game’s release.
The official trailer for the film has also received nearly 1 million thumbs down on YouTube, compared to just 286,000 thumbs up.
Milo Yiannopoulos’s criticism of the film for its social justice narrative also led to a Twitter spat with actress Leslie Jones, which resulted in him being permanently banned from the platform, known for its growing disdain of conservative media.
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