Don't Get Your Hopes Up for a Ghostbusters Sequel

Since its release in mid-July, Ghostbusters has pulled in $117 million at the domestic box office and $180 million across the entire global market. In order to break even, the Hollywood Reporter states that the film will have to pull in $300 million total—an unlikely feat that, if not accomplished, will likely kill any chance of a live-action sequel.

THR reports:

Sony won’t comment on whether it has banished a sequel to the netherworld, but perhaps tellingly, 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. 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. (It was former Sony film chief Amy Pascal who first embraced Feig’s vision for the live-action reboot, not Reitman or Rothman.) “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.”

Sony also reports that any potential loss will be made up for in revenue from Ghostbusters merchandise and other marketing opportunities. As a Sony rep tells THR:

“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.”

It was fun while it lasted, gang.