A report indicates that, while animated spinoffs are being discussed, a sequel to the Ghostbusters reboot is unlikely.
THR is reporting that the $300 million needed for the Ghostbusters reboot to break even appears to be out of reach. Despite having a few markets to open in yet, experts say that the film will struggle to reach $225 million worldwide, resulting in what is expected to be a $70M+ loss.
While Sony has apparently disputed the extent of the projected loss – pointing not to the success of the film, but rather to alternate revenue streams that include merchandising and third-party partnerships – it seems that the reboot itself is not the success that anyone had hoped for.
In addition to the projected losses, Sony is not currently commenting on plans for a sequel, in spite of comments made just last month from President of Worldwide Distribution at Sony Rory Bruer that “there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen.” Instead, THR reports that a studio representative has stated that Sony is instead “actively pursuing” both an animated film and an animated TV series titled Ghostbusters: Ecto Force, both of which will be led by Ivan Reitman.
A representative told THR that the studio is “very proud of the bold movie,” which “enlivened a 30-year-old brand and put it into the modern zeitgeist,” resulting in “many ideas in the works to further exploit the Ghostbusters universe.” However, box-office analyst Jeff Bock stated that he doesn’t see a reboot sequel in the franchise’s future, because he “can’t fathom the creative talents behind it … slogging out another one when the reception to the first one was so mediocre.”
