Ghostbusters Sequel Looking Unlikely, Sony Refutes Projected Loss - Report

A sequel to the recent Ghostbusters reboot is now looking unlikely. The latest box office figures have revealed that the film will not make a profit, leading producers at Sony to refocus their attention on animated spinoffs.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Paul Feig-directed comedy has to date made $180 million at the global box office, which includes a $117 million domestic take. With a production budget of $144 million, and a considerable marketing spend, Sony has estimated that the movie will need to earn at least $300 million to break even. Although the movie is yet to open in markets such as France, Japan, and Mexico, THR states that it is unlikely to earn much more than $225 million in total.

Last month, Sony distribution boss Rory Bruer stated that he was sure a sequel would happen. However, this was immediately after the movie's solid opening weekend, and no further comments have been made on the subject from either the studio or the film's cast and crew.

THR's sources state that Sony are now actively pursuing an animated feature as the next big screen release from the franchise, in addition to an animated show called Ghostbusters: Ecto Force which is due in 2018.

Sony has refuted the projected $70 million loss, telling 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."

Nevertheless, box office analyst Jeff Bock believes that the chances of a second movie are now looking slim. "Ghostbusters is on ice until further notice," he told the site. "I just can't fathom the creative talents behind it--Feig, [Melissa] McCarthy, [Kristen] Wiig, etc--slogging out another one when the reception to the first one was so mediocre."