‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Success Doesn’t Downplay Risky Reboots Coming to Theaters

Leave it to an unpredictable year at the cinema to have one of its best box office openings come one week after the end of the summer.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the first sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic, heads into its sophomore weekend Friday hot on the heels of a $111 million debut weekend, making it the third best domestic opening of the year.

It would be easy to think it’s high time once again for everything getting the sequel treatment. After all, Universal’s “Twisters” was among the best films of the summer, despite little connection to its predecessor beyond the pluralization of its title.

But there are still more rebooted titles arriving in the coming months that could provide an unwelcome reminder that dusting off old intellectual property for another go-round doesn’t always work.

Consider, for instance, that the “Beetlejuice” sequel’s opening weekend made nearly as much as the domestic run of March’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” which topped out at just under $113 million, below the nearly $130 million of 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” released in a still-pandemic-addled climate.

“Frozen Empire” wasn’t as expensive as the first reboot in 2016 but still rang up $100 million for production alone, making it far less profitable at a $200 million global haul than “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is likely to draw, as both films cost around the same to make.

All of these factors make November’s “Gladiator 2” from returning director Ridley Scott and Paramount the biggest test case yet for the viability of theatrical sequels after long hiatuses. It sports a strong cast with Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington but doesn’t otherwise feature returning cast, despite some characters’ familial connections to the original.

More important, Scott is reported to have rung up production costs to the tune of around $300 million, the kind of nightmare gamble that has strained the profitability of recent sequels to much more established franchises, including “Indiana Jones 5” and “The Marvels” last year.

While the record R-rated success of this summer’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” audiences exhibited appreciation for the “Twisters” disaster spectacle and the current success of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” all bode well for “Gladiator 2,” the risk of its budget is hard to shake, especially when May’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” from franchise originator George Miller floundered at half the budget.

Compared with August’s “Alien: Romulus,” a new installment of a longtime R-rated studio franchise that has made more than $300 million globally from a budget under $100 million, the “Gladiator” sequel is a rarity that stands to add more pain to Paramount Global’s fraught M&A period if it isn’t the breakout hit of its Thanksgiving window.

Currently unscheduled, Rob Reiner’s “Spinal Tap” sequel is the kind of attempt to bring back a classic that understands it shouldn’t be bigger than its britches. With a budget of just over $20 million and a returning ensemble cast, it’s hard to imagine the mockumentary approach wouldn’t make its money back here, even if there’s little appeal for younger filmgoers without cameos from fresher music acts.

Likewise, another currently unscheduled film, “Freakier Friday,” is another late sequel that seems more in line with Disney’s directive to cut costs across its franchise-dominant slates, with recent Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role alongside Lindsay Lohan.

On the flipside, Disney is also bringing back “Tron” next year, whose 2010 reboot cost $170 million to produce, making it possible another Disney gamble is in store, as “Tron: Ares” reportedly costs more than $100 million once again.

Then there’s Sony’s “28 Years Later.” With a reported budget of around $75 million, the 2025 continuation of Danny Boyle’s 2002 zombie hit is bringing back star Cillian Murphy after his Oscar win for “Oppenheimer,” the rare film that was as successful at the box office as it was critically acclaimed, finishing its global run at almost $1 billion.

The production costs of $75 million for “28 Years Later” isn’t totally excessive compared with other studios, but it is part of a planned trilogy and the second part is already in production.

That’s a bold move, given the drama surrounding Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” western epic, which also shot its first two films back-to-back, only for Warner Bros. to pull the August release of the second installment after the first bowed in June to disappointing turnout against its $100 million budget.

If “28 Years Later” doesn’t work for Sony next year, it still has a “Karate Kid” reboot on the 2025 calendar. Unlike the 2010 reboot, which only saw Jackie Chan from the original films return, it is bringing back both Chan and Ralph Macchio after Macchio’s success with “Cobra Kai” on Netflix.

As seen in the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” casting of “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega, it can’t hurt to utilize what’s popular in the TV space. Nevertheless, “Ghostbusters” also tried that with “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard and didn’t get the best results — which goes to show there’s only so much you can do to make risky reboots work.