The early year release Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters starring Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner has so far grossed $205.8 million worldwide on a reported budget of $50 million. More than $151 million of that total came from foreign territories, which is the #1 reason a sequel has reportedly been greenlit.
This comes as no surprise as Sony has been doing this for years now with their Resident Evil franchise, which only recently saw Resident Evil 6 greenlit for a September 12, 2014 release. Of course, being based on a popular video game and having already established itself as a franchise, the Resident Evil success isn’t exactly comparable. Neither is the upcoming release of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which was converted for 3-D to take advantage of international markets that flock to such releases.
So what of Hansel & Gretel?
Obviously, with the first film being a witch-based feature the makings for a trilogy are on the wall, the next installment could have them hunting vampires and the third werewolves. I assume it will still be a witch story, but perhaps witches have somehow managed to tap into controlling other members of the fantasy world to do their bidding. These things can’t be too hard to write once you have the backing.
Is the worldwide market there to support something that doesn’t already have some kind of following? Even Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter managed $78.9 million internationally, but on a budget of $19 million more than it cost to make Hansel & Gretel and without the star of The Bourne Legacy and The Avengers as the face of the franchise it wouldn’t make sense to take the fang-hunting Honest Abe story any farther.
It’s quite clear studios are more interested in the easy dollar and the junk franchise than the risky venture, but do you see a Hansel & Gretel sequel as a viable option? After the first one I’d argue the $54 million it brought in domestically won’t be repeated and I imagine Paramount will only tackle this if the budget remains at $50 million or perhaps even less.
Thoughts?
