You Decide: How Much Would Anchorman 2 and Zoolander 2 Gross?
Confused by Paramount's reluctance to greenlight the long-awaited sequels to Anchorman and Zoolander? Mike Fleming at our sister site Deadline puts things into perspective: Neither of those films was profitable overseas and the studio would have to hope for a high domestic gross on the sequels to make the production worthwhile. So, I put the question to you: How much do you think each of these sequels could make?
Here's the background you need:
· Paramount is hoping to keep both sequels budgeted at $40 million. The Anchorman 2 team won't even begin a script unless a $70 million budget is approved.
· The original Anchorman made $85 million domestic and only $5 million foreign (though its stars have seen their profiles rise considerably since).
· The original Zoolander made $45 million domestic and only $15 million foreign (though it was released around the September 11 attacks, which may have limited its box office).
When you factor in a sizable marketing campaign, how much would each of those sequels have to make to get a greenlight, and how much could they make? There's relatively little precedent for a cult comedy getting a big-budget sequel so many years later, so I want to hear your thoughts. Would each break $100 million? Could one of them do even better than that?
'Anchorman 2' Budget Gap $30 Million As Paramount And Filmmakers Regroup [Deadline]
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Comments
Zoolander was STUPID. Most of the budget was spent giving Ben Stiller waxing and modeling lessons. He also got facials and a personal trainer. He used this film to get all this for free. I thought it was self-indulgent drivel.
Anchorman had some great laughs and a great cast.
Leave Zoolander alone, Anchorman deserves a sequel
have i taken a crazy pill?
de-rek-zoo-lan-der was genius. we need more.
*does blue steel*.
I'd like to think Zoolander 2 could do all right internationally with Stiller et al, but this isn't Fockers or Night at the Museum. It's a niche sequel to a niche send-up with not a fantastically bankable ensemble. It'd probably do $130-140m globally? Maybe?
Anchorman 2 will never be made, so it's moot to me; why would Farrell, Carell and Rudd make some Hangover-esque deal at these levels? But IF it somehow got miracled into existence, it'd do maybe $110m? $120m? What are they gonna do, shoot it in 3-D?
It should be added that the studio's budget(s) anticipates soft theatrical and some video bump, though they're clearly hedging that the video market will be about 30-40% worse in three years then it is now.
There's key data missing from the info required to make predictions. That is how good both films did on DVD. I guess that in order to have a sequel, both did terrifically in that aspect.
Taking that in consideration, I think both could very well reach 80 million stateside (which, if they keep their budgets around 50 million, would be very good).
Now, Zoolander could do great worldwide with the right cast. Stiller is always reliable. For example, he was the only draw in Heartbreak Kid (besides the directors), and that did 90 million overseas. At LEAST $60 million would be assured. That's a grand total of 140 million worldwide on a 40-50 million budget. Not too shabby.
As for Anchorman, I'm not too sure about overseas. I guess around $40 million would be fine.
If I was a studio CEO, I'd greenlight Zoolander 2.
i would definitely go see both of them! i didn't see zoolander until it was out on dvd, but it was awesome, and to see another adventure of derek zoolander would be awesome! as long as billy zane makes another appearance. anchorman is by far, my favorite will farrell movie, and i quote it at least a few times a week. i think that both would do much better this time around in theaters, (obviously as long as no more disasters strike around release). and with paul and steve having promised to take a pay cut, just so do the movie, the studio should be jumping all over this. i love lamp.
Anchorman: $65M
Zoolander? Tough to say. It's really a one-trick skit made into a movie that got a following in cable reruns, so anywhere from $30-45M.
Audiences are tiring of seeing the same people in every comedy, so sequels of movies that did OK but weren't blockbusters is risky. Nixing these two proves at least somebody in Hollywood is thinking.
The above numbers are Domestic Only, btw. I won't even try to guess foreign, but it won't be huge.
After Fockers and the Night at the Museum movies, I think Stiller owes me a Zoolander 2.
If they can keep the budget close to the original, most likely with the built in audience it won’t make less box office than the original did, they will both make $$. You want to talk about a travesty, look at the creator of 2005’s #1 Comedy Film “Wedding Crashers”, it made about $400,000,000,00 and the creator Dan Burns only made a TV knockoff, and still can’t get a green light on the sequel or prequel. Go figure. It makes no sense, Hollywood needs to wake up and pull their head out of you know where.