After the live-action manga adaptationGhost in the Shellgot trounced by DreamWorks Animation’sThe Boss Babythis past weekend, Paramount distribution chiefKyle Daviesrevealed that thewhitewashing controversyswirling around the film played a big factor in its lackluster opening numbers. The sci-fi action thriller, starring global superstarScarlett Johansson, debuted in third place, behindThe Boss Babyand Disney’sBeauty and the Beast, earning just $18.6 million, Now it’s believed that this movie will result in a huge loss for the studio. A new report claims that Paramount could lose as much as $60 million
Deadlinereports thatGhost in the Shellis predicted to top out globally at $200 million, with roughly $50 million from the domestic market and $150 million from international territories. While the budget was publicly revealed as $110 million, the combined total of the production budget and the publicity and advertising budget (P&A) is roughly $250 million. Some sources believe that the actual production budget was much higher, with some estimating the actual budget to be around $180 million, which would push the studio’s losses for theScarlett Johanssonfilm to over $100 million.
As of now,Ghost in the Shellhas earned $23 million domestically and $50.6 million internationally for a worldwide tally of $73.6 million. Even if it posts a miraculously minimal second-frame drop this weekend, it will likely be too little, too late, especially considering that it will face the surefire blockbusterThe Fate of the Furiousnext week. The movie does have one other shot at a box office miracle, though, opening in its final international markets this weekend, starting April 7, one of them being China, and the other being Japan, the country where the original manga was created. but this new report doesn’t think the Chinese or Japanese markets could bail out this failedmanga adaptation.
There have been recent examples where the Chinese market alone saves a movie from complete failure. Universal’sWarcraftearned just $47 million domestically, but it fared much better overseas with an international take of $386.3 million, $220.8 million of which came from China alone. APacific Rimsequel was pushed into production largely due to its success in the Chinese marketplace, but this report from Deadline doesn’t think thatGhost in the Shellwill be a hit in China, since sci-fi movies rarely fare well in the Middle Kingdom. As for Japan, box office pundits are predicting a $45 million gross in the country, and while Japanese audiences reportedly aren’t offended by the “whitewashed” casting ofScarlett JohanssonasThe Major, a character dubbed Major Kusanagi in the manga, it is believed that the debut ofThe Fate of the Furiouson April 12 will hurtGhost in the Shell’s box office chances in Japan more than the controversy.
TheGhost in the Shelladaptation was also hurt bynegative movie reviews, with the movie scoring just a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is just below the 50% score forThe Boss Baby, which came out on top last weekend with $50.1 million.Ghost in the Shell’s huge loss does not come at a great time for Paramount, just after the studio’s massive $1 billion deal with China-based Shanghai Film Group and HuaHua Media falling through. Given all of the whitewashing controversy that this movie endured, which likely had a big impact in its box office failure, it remains to be seen if studios will look atGhost in the Shellas a cautionary tale, one that they may heed moving forward, especially when it comes to “whitewashed” casting.
