Beetlejuice, the sequel to Beetlejuice (1988), is scheduled to be released in Japan on September 27, 2024. It was released in theaters earlier in the US and has been a huge hit, but at one point there was talk of making it into a streaming film. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdi, co-chairs of Warner Bros. Pictures, revealed the inside story to the New York Times.
The idea of a sequel to Beetlejuice by director Tim Burton had been under consideration at Warner Bros. for over 10 years. However, negotiations over costs and distribution proved difficult, and there was also a proposal to stream it on Warner’s video streaming service “Max.”
Read Also: Officer Black Belt: Netflix Movie Review
Abdi said the reason this proposal was rejected was “it just didn’t suit Tim. The work of an artist with a clear vision should be shown on the big screen.” However, there was a big problem between Burton and the studio. The production cost was expected to be high, about $147 million. So De Luca and Abdi negotiated with Burton and proposed that if the budget was kept under $100 million, it would be an exclusive theatrical release.
The budget was ultimately kept to $99 million, and the studio approved the production of Beetlejuice. Burton, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, and other cast members agreed to a large back-end contract (a contract that allows them to receive a dividend based on the box office revenue) in exchange for a small upfront payment.
As a result, Beetlejuice was a huge success, so this strategy can be said to have been successful. Since its US release on September 6, the film has already exceeded the $200 million mark at the US box office. It has already recorded a huge hit with a worldwide box office revenue of $277.48 million.
Read Also: Mickey 17: first official trailer
The film “Beetlejuice: Beetlejuice” will be released on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Leave a Reply