OK, So Maybe Green Lantern 2 Isn't Moving Forward (Yet) Posted 06.29.11 by Ryan
Just days ago, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros. was planning on moving forward with Green Lantern 2 despite being "somewhat disappointed" by Green Lantern's mediocre box office performance to date.
The studio has a lot riding on Green Lantern, having already hired Michael Goldenberg last August to draft a sequel script. It also needs to fill the void in its upcoming slate created by the end of the Harry Potter franchise. In fact, DC Entertainment–Warner Bros. was planning to release two DC-related movies a year in the studio's post-Harry Potter era.
The latest report from THR suggests that, actually, Warner Bros. won't be pushing ahead on a sequel, with a spokesperson saying "no decision has been reached" on Green Lantern 2. Clearly, the studio wants a sequel but is having trouble justifying the costs. As one executive at a rival studio told the site, "I don't see how they actually move ahead, even if they are dying to launch some non-Batman, non-Superman DC [Comics] heroes."
Money is the sequel's main adversary. Green Lantern cost $200 million to make and an expensive domestic and foreign marketing campaign followed, putting the actual cost of the movie in the range of $400 million. With only $120 million in worldwide box office tallied so far, that's a lot of ground to make up. Green Lantern is still opening in foreign markets. But while it was in first place during its opening weekend in Britain, it was knocked to third place the next weekend by the comedy Bridesmaids.
The studio's marketing campaign could actually help a sequel though, the report suggests, since audiences are now familiar with the character and WB plans to unveil a variety of Green Lantern merchandise, including games, theme park rides, and an animated series. Used as a reference, Disney's Cars was the least well-embraced movie of Pixar's releases, but an aggressive global licensing campaign paved the way for Cars 2 to have a huge opening weekend, earning $8 million more in its first weekend than its predecessor.
However, unless Green Lantern can at least break even for the studio ― DVD sales could be a huge contributor ― it looks like Green Lantern 2 may just be a hopeful plan.