Ghostbusters Sequel Reportedly Unlikely After Over $70 Million Loss

After a strong start, Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters couldn’t maintain the momentum, and after almost four weeks at theaters the film has only brought in a bit above $180 million worldwide.

That number isn’t believed to spike anytime soon either, though as THR points out, it still hasn’t opened in France, Japan, or Mexico. Even with those additional territories, it would be hard for the film to hit $225 million, nonetheless $300 million, which is the break-even point for the studio.

Despite the film’s subpar performance, many still believed that the studio would move forward with a sequel since they’ve already spent all the money to establish the universe. That might not be such a sure thing now, as predictions suggest the studio could lose upwards of $70 million on the project.

Sony hasn’t stopped supporting the film, however, and they are looking to use it as a springboard for a Ghostbusters Animated film and TV series called Ghostbusters: Ecto Force.

“We’re very proud of the bold movie Paul Feig made, which critics and audiences loved,” a studio rep tells THR. “It has enlivened a 30-year-old brand and put it into the modern zeitgeist. As a result, we have many ideas in the works to further exploit the Ghostbusters universe.”

That’s all well and good, but box-office analyst Jeff Brock says a potential sequel is not coming anytime soon.

“Ghostbusters is on ice until further notice. 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.”

For its part, Sony disputes that $70 million number and says that losses have been extremely exaggerated.

“This loss calculation is way off,” says the Sony rep. “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.”

If a sequel does get greenlit, it most likely won’t have Paul Feig at the helm, as the Director has stated he doesn’t see any other classic film remakes in his future.