Superman Sequel confirmed: Singer to Direct

[Hand of Evil]

From the news page: http://cinescape.com/0/editorial.as...tion=page&type_id=&cat_id=270338&obj_id=51994

According to Variety, Warner Bros. is seriously contemplating whether they should go ahead with a sequel to SUPERMAN RETURNS.

In their article Variety revealed that WB and Legendary Pictures might have a shot at breaking even on the film, but that it remains a long shot. Because the film is struggling not to lose money for it's studios, they are trying to decide if they want to gamble on a sequel.


Director Bryan Singer told fans at the Comic Con that he planned to have a sequel in theaters sometime in 2009, but the studio hasn't signed him for a sequel.


The good news is that a sequel will likely cost much less as test effects are done and many of the sets can be reused by the studio. Legendary and WB, who share production costs on the film, have dumped an awful lot over the years to develop this film (a rumored $350 million), and it would be hard to just walk away. Right?


Time will tell with this one.

I am just not letting go!

 

[Mistwell]

Superman Returns is now up to $348,139,220, not including DVD or licensing.

Can we now put to bed the myth that this movie was a bust at the box office?

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Superman Returns is now up to $348,139,220, not including DVD or licensing.

Can we now put to bed the myth that this movie was a bust at the box office?

Sadly, it depends on how one defines a movie as being "a bust."

For the on the street fan, it had a good opening, but paled compared to PotC2, which has been a fiscal juggernaut until the past couple weeks. In that measure, it wasn't a bust.

For the studios, if they're looking at the $350 million price tag it took to get this movie to screen, which more than likely includes all the false-starts and aborted prior attempts, then the film has yet to break even on production costs, to say nothing of advertising costs.

No idea how well the various licensed merch is doing, or what percentage of that money Warner Bros actually sees, or if it even plays a role in determining the film's total profit margin.

It could also be that a part of the movie-going community sees any big-budget overly-hyped film that doesn't do amazing numbers like PotC2 did as being "a bust."

I get the feeling that DVD sales are going to be the biggest indicator if there's going to be another Superman movie anytime soon.

And as muc as I really liked Superman Returns, I agree with the earlier comment about "Less Donner, More Singer."

 

[Hand of Evil]

Superman Returns is now up to $348,139,220, not including DVD or licensing.

Can we now put to bed the myth that this movie was a bust at the box office?

Nope, Domestic: $193,139,220, are the numbers that count in Hollywood. Yes, was a hit but for some reason they only look at domestic take. DVDs are not even counted, I think they fear the IRS, they do strange math with DVD sales.

 

[Mistwell]

For the studios, if they're looking at the $350 million price tag it took to get this movie to screen, which more than likely includes all the false-starts and aborted prior attempts, then the film has yet to break even on production costs, to say nothing of advertising costs.

Even the most wildly exagerated estimates for the cost of this movie do not put it as high as $350M. Right now, it's listed as $260M, and that is from the studio exagerating, and that includes marketing.

 

[Mistwell]

Nope, Domestic: $193,139,220, are the numbers that count in Hollywood. Yes, was a hit but for some reason they only look at domestic take. DVDs are not even counted, I think they fear the IRS, they do strange math with DVD sales.

I have done plenty of work in the industry, and let me assure you all the numbers count, domestic or foreign. You can see the current take here:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=superman06.htm

And since this was a WB movie, they actually get a larger share of the licensing than most other companies, and Superman is big in licensing right now (I know - my company is considering a halloween costume license for it right now).

 

[Vigilance]

Nope, Domestic: $193,139,220, are the numbers that count in Hollywood. Yes, was a hit but for some reason they only look at domestic take. DVDs are not even counted, I think they fear the IRS, they do strange math with DVD sales.

They do strange math with all the sales, which is why no movie in the history of Hollywood ever made any money.

Seriously.

Which also sums up my attitude about foreign sales. I have a sneaking suspicion that if they "didn't count" (whatever that means), they wouldn't show them overseas. I don't think there's charity involved at any stage of the process.

Chuck

 

[Ranger REG]

Here's another online article to fuel more speculation ... as well as comparing Superman Returns and X-Men 3: The Last Stand (a franchise Bryan Singer started before he left to do the former film) earning at the box office.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/en_nm/thompson_dc

Just an off-handed comment: I think Bryan Singer screwed WB when he needed $250 mil to do the film, but WB bent backward even so far to give $50 mil more when Bryan Singer later needed more. Bryan Singer criticized WB for the way they promoted/hyped his film, but can you blame WB after having written $300 mil check?

Funny, he criticized for the way FOX budgeted his two X-Men films and they both did pretty well. Maybe WB should take their cue from FOX, because Bryan seems to do well when he's on tight budget. He would focus on the story more than on the special effects.

 

[Klaus]

Since most of the sets can be reused, and most of the test FX have been nailed down, a sequel could have a considerably smaller budget and still look awesome on-screen.

Here's hoping.

 

[Ranger REG]

Since most of the sets can be reused, and most of the test FX have been nailed down, a sequel could have a considerably smaller budget.

True, but it's not gonna make Bryan Singer happy.

Unless of course, he realized the error of his way, but being a Hollywood ego ... ehh. *Shrugs*