Ghostbusters Sequel Unlikely as Sony Faces Supposed $70 Million Loss

The new female-led version of Ghostbusters has been receiving mixed reviews. But following the movie’s debut in mid-July, Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at Sony, was sure of a Ghostbusters sequel: “While nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen,” said Bruer.

Unfortunately, the film, which stars Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, is expected to fall $70 million short of profitability, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The reboot has earned a little more than $180 million worldwide and $117 million domestically. Though its production budget was $144 million, the film would have to earn $300 million to break even because of its advertising costs. Ghostbusters still hasn’t been released in France, Japan and Mexico, but even so, it would likely have trouble reaching the $225 million mark.

However, this loss may have been overestimated. Sony has argued that revenue from merchandising and new attractions, like the Ghostbusters exhibit at Madame Tussauds and a theme park ride in Dubai, were not included in the calculations. The studio also noted that the amount of people who have rented the original 1984 Ghostbusters has went up this summer.

“This loss calculation is way off,” a Sony rep told 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.”

Sony hasn’t commented on whether or not they’re committing to a sequel, but they announced that they are starting to work on an animated version of the 1984 Ghostbusters (expected to hit theaters in 2019) and an animated TV version, Ghostbusters: Ecto Force (expected to be released in 2018).

“We’re very proud of the bold movie Paul Feig made, which critics and audiences loved,” said a studio rep. “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.”