14 DAY TRIAL // It was supposed to be among the biggest releases of this summer but it didn’t even match the performance of rival “Thor,” which didn’t even have a huge name as lead. With all that, Warner Bros. wants a “Green Lantern” sequel, it has emerged.
The film, starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, was meant to be the first in a new superhero franchise that would stand the test of time and make billions at the box office.
Instead, shortly after release, it became clear that it was rather a one-time thing: critics thrashed it, while audiences too shunned it after the opening weekend.
Nevertheless, Warner Bros. is convinced (or rather, desperate enough to believe) that there’s still some life in the franchise, and it’s already thinking of a sequel, The Hollywood Reporter informs.
“Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is ‘somewhat disappointed’ with Green Lantern’s result,” THR says.
“Over the weekend, Green Lantern fell a steep 66% at the domestic box office, grossing $18.4 million for a cume of $89.3 million. That’s a big decline,” the publication further notes.
Instead of accepting defeat and bowing down gracefully, Warners is trying to spin this into a story of how this is usually what happens to movies of this type.
“Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the movie is settling in, pointing out that fanboy pics often see a significant drop-off in their second weekends,” THR writes, adding that, even so, “Green Lantern” fared miserably as compared to “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class.”
Still, with the “Harry Potter” franchise coming to an end, Warners needs another long and successful one to replace it, which explains why it’s so confident in “Green Lantern” even when no one else seems to be.
Reaction to news of a sequel has been nothing but disheartening, with critics pointing out that Warners is signing its own suicide note if it agrees to it.
“Of course WB is going to say it’s still pursuing a GREEN LANTERN sequel. They’re trying to squeeze every last buck out of that bomb,” Jeff Sneider of Variety writes, as cited by Hollywood News.
“The real world reason can be summed up as such: Harry Potter. The studio’s cash cow ends in a couple of weeks, and they need something to replace it,” Devin Faraci also says.