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[bananafactory]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...enough-opening-for-ghostbusters/#76d13d7a3179

The first unofficial tracking is in for Sony’s much-discussed Ghostbusters reboot. The Hollywood Reporter reported (sorry) on Thursday night that Paul Feig’s female-led sci-fi action comedy is looking at an opening weekend of between $40 and $50 million when it opens in North America on July 15.

Melissa McCarthy’s biggest opening weekend as of today is the $39 million debut of The Heat back in 2013. Her biggest overall grosser is Bridesmaids which made $169m in North America and $288m worldwide. To the extent that Kristen Wiig is a “star,” her biggest live-action opening is the $54m debut of the ensemble sci-fi dramedy The Martian.

Some interesting musings on the box office tracking for Ghostbusters, and what should be considered a success. We've discussed to death whether or not it's going to be good but I don't think there's been much talk, it any, about box office receipts and budget.

What do you guys think? Is a roughly $50m OW good enough? Can it do more?

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Budget is 150 million. Depends on subsequent weekends at the box office if anything.

 

[natjjohn]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...enough-opening-for-ghostbusters/#76d13d7a3179





Some interesting musings on the box office tracking for Ghostbusters, and what should be considered a success. We've discussed to death whether or not it's going to be good but I don't think there's been much talk, it any, about box office receipts and budget.

What do you guys think? Is a roughly $50m OW good enough? Can it do more?

Seems successful. Don't know the budget but looks like it was low.

 

[Slayven]

Too must stank on this, and everyone will learn the wrong listens after this

 

[Sanjuro]

Yeah, that'll do nicely.

 

[Lothars]

It will all depend on quality of the movie, if it's a really good movie than word of mouth will really help it out. If it is terrible than word of mouth will push people away.

 

[knkng]

The real question is, will China watch a Ghostbusters movie featuring women?

 

[bananafactory]

It will all depend on quality of the movie, if it's a really good movie than word of mouth will really help it out. If it is terrible than word of mouth will push people away.

So what's the floor, then, even with bad word of mouth or reviews? I figure "Ghostbusters" in the title gets it to $30m regardless

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

If the budget is really around $150, then it's going to need a lot from overseas to make a profit if we're looking at a 40-50 million opening here.

Isn't the conventional wisdom that a movie needs to double its budget to make a profit?

 

[Brutalitops]

Well the budget is somehow 150 million, and the marketing costs for this movie must have been huge on top of that. I don't see it making much profit.

 

[Lautaro]

Budget is 150 million. Depends on subsequent weekends at the box office if anything.

Damn, that' seems kind of big... wasn't Independence Day 160 million?

 

[valkillmore]

$50 million opening for a franchise that hasn't seen a new entry in nearly two decades, and for a film that has been subjected to unprecedented scrutiny for a litany of reasons, sounds like a triumph.

 

[antonz]

50 million would be a disaster. They could have made generic Melissa McCarthy and friends movie and reached that. Its named Ghostbusters and set in that universe to be more than the generic Melissa McCarthy movie.

 

[John Dunbar]

The real question is, will China watch a Ghostbusters movie featuring women?

maybe after they photoshop one of them out of the poster.

 

[Blablurn]

The real question is, will China watch a Ghostbusters movie featuring women?

As far as i know it wont come out here in china lol

Edit: just checked again. Yep, still not listed.

 

[Lothars]

So what's the floor, then, even with bad word of mouth or reviews? I figure "Ghostbusters" in the title gets it to $30m regardless

Opening weekend will probably be around 30 to 40 million anyway, If it really gets praised than I could see at least 50. I was mainly talking about lifetime of the movie.

 

[Akahige]

As far as i know it wont come out here in china lol

Yeah doesn't China have a ban on movies featuring ghosts?

 

[Bel Marduk]

Hopefully it doesn't even make that. These reboot cashins are always terrible and the original was a classic.

 

[bananafactory]

50 million would be a disaster. They could have made generic Melissa McCarthy and friends movie and reached that. Its named Ghostbusters and set in that universe to be more than the generic Melissa McCarthy movie.

Bridesmaids opened at $26m, Spy was $29. Both of those also received rave reviews. Her highest was $39 in The Heat but you could argue Bullock was a big draw there. I don't think a 'generic' McCarthy movie can hit $50m plus

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Its named Ghostbusters and set in that universe

No it isn't , its a reboot for some dumbass reason.

 

[knkng]

Yeah doesn't China have a ban on movies featuring ghosts?

Is that what they meant when they said China didn't want movies with spooks in them?

Spoiler

Jesus, I hate myself for that one...

 

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

Ghostbusters 1 adjusts to about $590M, or about the same as Independence Day's adjusted total. So from a directly apples-to-apples comparison, a $50M would not look good when I consider ID:R's to be embarrassing as shit for Fox.

The differences, though, is: 1) Ghostbusters had a poorly performing sequel between the first and this one, and 2) There's been a massive amount of negativity surrounding the project since the very beginning. The second point is the most important, and I think due to that, a $50M opening would seem like a victory. The legs from there may change that perception, of course.

 

[Violence Jack]

I don't see this opening over $35 million to be honest. All depends on the reviews and WOM.

 

[Mushroomer25]

Well the budget is somehow 150 million, and the marketing costs for this movie must have been huge on top of that. I don't see it making much profit.

Still, Sony could accept the loss on a first film if it helps revive the whole franchise. They want this to be a cinematic universe, and pushing the brand now could sell people for years to come.

 

[Volimar]

I think it'll do fine. Two of the stars have a large female following. What's opening against it?

 

[jett]

The McCarthy factor will probably give it a decent opener by her standards. $150 mill is a large price tag though.

 

[lightskintwin]

Wow at that 150 million budget. I didn't realize they went that far in when rebooting this.

 

[alfredofroylan]

Still, Sony could accept the loss on a first film if it helps revive the whole franchise. They want this to be a cinematic universe, and pushing the brand now could sell people for years to come.

That did't work for Tron.

 

[Mr-Joker]

It will do fine, the hate it got just ended up shining a spotlight on it so people are aware of it and will end up watching it.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Still, Sony could accept the loss on a first film if it helps revive the whole franchise. They want this to be a cinematic universe, and pushing the brand now could sell people for years to come.

I doubt think companies like Sony are interested in writing off 100 million today for a chance to make tens of millions 5 years down the road.

 

[Savitar]

It's kinda a sign of how things are these days when fifty million is considered not good enough.

 

[Finaj]

$150 million is a lot considering there aren't too many big actors and the effects don't appear to be anything spectacular.

 

[jediyoshi]

I think it'll do fine. Two of the stars have a large female following. What's opening against it?

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/
This week, Secret life of Pets.

Release week, The Infiltrator.

Week after, Ice Age and Star Trek Beyond.

 

[mreddie]

Yep but if it's below 45m, it's fucked.

 

[Vicetrailia]

So how is the quality of the film? I expected it to be a time waster for kids, but still a bit funny.

 

[Geist-]

I'll be keeping my ear out for reviews, but the trailers didn't give me any faith that this will be good (and neither did the new theme).

 

[Savitar]

$150 million is a lot considering there aren't too many big actors and the effects don't appear to be anything spectacular.

There are few bankable stars these days, it's not like one time you could stick Actor A in a role and the film would be a hit. That's quickly been going the way of the dodo for years now.

 

[Volimar]

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/
This week, Secret life of Pets.

Release week, The Infiltrator.

Week after, Ice Age and Star Trek Beyond.

Eh, I think it'll be okay. Star Trek Beyond has even less marketing than Ghostbusters has had.

 

[Mushroomer25]

That did't work for Tron.

Tron didn't stick because Disney had two other major action/sci-fi blockbuster franchises. More Tron could've been profitable, but wasn't the best use of resources. They already own that corner of the market. Better to try and cash in on other demographics.

Sony doesn't have the same luxury. There's money to be made if Ghostbusters can be a big yearly release. That might be enough to incentivize them into continuing after a reasonable loss on the first movie.

I still think it'd need to cross $200M globally before they greenlight a second film, though. Even then, a second film might mean a different cast of Ghostbusters.

 

[smurfx]

Yeah doesn't China have a ban on movies featuring ghosts?

really? why? anybody know what other things they ban? i was gonna say that it might be saved by foreign markets but if they don't have china then it's going to be hard to make back their money.

 

[Shaanyboi]

It's kinda a sign of how things are these days when fifty million is considered not good enough.

When your effects budget is more than popsicle sticks, that tends to happen.

 

[Savitar]

really? why? anybody know what other things they ban? i was gonna say that it might be saved by foreign markets but if they don't have china then it's going to be hard to make back their money.

No skeletons. When Wrath of the Lich King came out in China they had to cover up all models with bones. They all got flesh. No corpses on the ground either, they got changed to grave markers.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

really? why? anybody know what other things they ban? i was gonna say that it might be saved by foreign markets but if they don't have china then it's going to be hard to make back their money.

Cultural reasons. Portrayal of Skeletons/Bones is also banned in China.

 

[Snaku]

No it isn't , its a reboot for some dumbass reason.

I find it hilarious how offended GB fans are about it being a reboot, as if a reboot of a long dead franchise is some new bizarre concept.

 

[smurfx]

No skeletons. When Wrath of the Lich King came out in China they had to cover up all models with bones. They all got flesh. No corpses on the ground either, they got changed to grave markers.

Cultural reasons. Portrayal of Skeletons/Bones is also banned in China.

did they ban the first pirates of the caribbean?

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

Cultural reasons. Portrayal of Skeletons/Bones is also banned in China.

Warcraft 3 is gonna suck if they portray the undead in a bad way.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

did they ban the first pirates of the caribbean?

Yes maybe I don't know.

Warcraft 3 is gonna suck if they portray the undead in a bad way.

If they get that far @_@

 

[Strimei]

really? why? anybody know what other things they ban? i was gonna say that it might be saved by foreign markets but if they don't have china then it's going to be hard to make back their money.

They banned time travel in fiction as well, as I recall (whether its just movies or everything, not sure).

 

[User 479360]

It could flop. People don't seem very excited.

 

[Daft Punk]

No it isn't , its a reboot for some dumbass reason.

Yes, because Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and the corpse of Harold Ramis all want to make another Ghostbusters movie. What is it with nerds being so super defensive of their interests?