Beetlejuice 2 wouldn’t have been released in theaters without Jenna Ortega and the rest of the cast: they saved Tim Burton $48 million

News culture Beetlejuice 2 wouldn’t have been released in theaters without Jenna Ortega and the rest of the cast: they saved Tim Burton $48 million

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Beetlejuice 2 is a success!

Among the filmmakers most appreciated by the public, we certainly find Tim Burton. It must be said that since his first film released in 1985, the American director has always had a very recognizable touch and a desire to develop a very Halloween-style universe, enough to build a fairly substantial fanbase. But after a Miss Peregrine very average and a Dumbo not much better, many spectators were waiting to see Tim Burton return to a project that would allow him to rediscover his old flame. So when Beetlejuice 2 was announced, suffice to say that most fans were delighted.

If one would have thought that he would have reserved his release for the month of October, it was on September 11 that Tim Burton released Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the cinema. With a few exceptions, the entire cast of the original film was back, adding along the way an ultra-popular actress who suits Tim Burton’s world perfectly (and who had already worked with him anyway): Jenna Ortega. The perfect recipe for a remarkable return to cinema, and it really didn’t fail. For a film to be considered a box office success, some estimate that it must gross at least 2.5 times its budget. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cost 99 million dollars and grossed more than 264 million, so we can officially call it a success!

Beetlejuice 2 could not have been released in theaters without an agreement from the casting

But even if Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is indeed considered a real success today, its story could have been very different. Indeed, originally, Tim Burton had asked for no less than $147 million budget for the sequel to his 1988 film. Unfortunately, it was a bit too much for the executives at Warner Bros. So they gave him imposed a release directly in SVOD on the Max service, which did not really please Tim Burton.

Very attached to the big screen offered by cinemas, the American director therefore negotiated with Warner Bros so that his film could be released in cinemas. The condition then was that the budget passed below $100 millionwhich corresponds to a saving of $48 million. Impossible ? Not really when we know that a large part of the film’s budget corresponded to the fees of the actors and producers.

To get below the $100 million budget, the cast composed in particular of Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder et Catherine O’Hara therefore had to agree to lower their salaries… at least in theory. The actresses and actors of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice have indeed signed what is called a back-endmeaning they would receive a portion of the profits generated by the film in return for a lower salary upfront. Knowing that the film did well, it could well be that they ended up earning more than what was expected, all by guaranteeing a cinema release rather than on SVOD. We thank them for taking this risk!