While it would be easy to dismiss Sony‘s aggressive plans to expand the "Ghostbusters" franchise, it’s worth noting that Paul Feig, who will get out of the gate first with the upcoming female driven entry, was hesitant at first about taking it on. “I just couldn’t get my head around it,” he admitted to Variety, but when he struck upon switching up genders, inspiration hit. “I know how to do that movie, and I know all these funny women.” But no franchise expansion comes without risk and cost, and Feig’s movie will definitely have both.
Taking a look at Sony, now operating under the leadership of ex-Fox honcho Tom Rothman and following the departure of Amy Pascal, THR reveals that this "Ghostbusters" will have quite a price tag: $154 million. And that’s after Feig tweaked the script for budget conscious Rothman, allowing the cost to be scaled back from an initial $169 million. That’s a lotta proton packs….
In contemporary blockbuster terms, it’s not an outrageous figure, but with a marketing cost that will likely match it, Sony is clearly expecting a big return for this movie. And it’s not only on Feig’s shoulders that the future of the series rests, which will include a bro-centric outing with Channing Tatum.
But you can’t make money without spending money, so we’ll see if Sony’s investment will pay off, and if Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones can power up "Ghostbusters" for a new generation.