Warner Bros. is doubling down on the Green Lantern and planning a sequel to Martin Campbell’s film in spite of the fact that the $200 million production appears unlikely to turn a profit. It could be bravado or it could be that the studio may be remembering Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, which cost $150 million to produce and made around $373 million at the worldwide box office, which meant that given marketing costs and studio overhead, the film might have just about broken even. But the sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight built on that limited success and earned over a billion dollars at the box office, almost 3 times as much Nolan’s first Bat film. Now the one variable is the fact that Batman Begins, though it didn’t open particularly well ($48.7 million in 2005), did demonstrate considerable “legs,” as its opening weekend only accounted for 23.7% of its eventual domestic gross.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is planning a Green Lantern sequel in spite of the fact that studio honchos are “somewhat disappointed” with Campbell’s film’s ten-day box office performance. The studio is still looking to establish new franchises that can make up for the loss of the Harry Potter films. Apparently it is ready to double down once again on Green Lantern, which remains one of DC Comics most popular comic book franchises.
Leaking a story about a sequel to The Hollywood Reporter certainly indicates that the studio is not yet ready to throw in the towel, and it is possible that they have a story that they really think will work now the audiences are familiar with the character. But if the studio does indeed authorize a second Green Lantern film, it is unlikely that Campbell will direct, since he has already hinted that he won’t be back for a second round.
Campbell’s Green Lantern will get another chance to display its “legs” over the coming Fourth of July weekend, though it will face stiff competition for its core audience from Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opens on Tuesday.