Now this is spooky: Tim Burton‘s long-awaited “Beetlejuice” sequel almost received a streaming-only release. But thanks to Burton’s budget cuts and negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery executives, plans for a potential Max-exclusive were scrapped in favor of a full theatrical debut.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which stars Michael Keaton reprising his role of the titular ghoul after the 1988 original, is a box-office hit — at least in the U.S. — following its world premiere at Venice 2024. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has grossed more than $264 million at the worldwide box office since its September 6 release. A weak international performance is presently sullying the results a bit.
But Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy took a victory lap in the New York Times all the same. The Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs told the publication that Burton refused a to let “Beetlejuice 2” go streaming-only.
“That was never going to work for Tim,” Abdy said said. “You’re talking about a visionary artist whose films demand to be seen on a big screen.”
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” also was the first feature that De Luca and Abdy developed in its entirety since the duo took over the film studio in 2022. Burton’s last film was the 2019 live-action feature “Dumbo,” which flopped hard. For Burton’s most-recent box-office success you’d have to travel back to “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.
To appease WBD executives and earn his theatrical release, Burton reoriented the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” budget, and ultimately cut almost $50 million from what had been projected. The film was slated to be made for $147 million with “star salaries and producer fees” being the top costs.
According to the NYT, De Luca and Abdy “approached Burton and said he could make the sequel for an exclusive theatrical release as long as he got the budget down below the $100 million mark.” The film was greenlit for $99 million, with Burton and cast members Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, and Catherine O’Hara agreeing to less money upfront. They instead took back-end deals to get a percentage of the box-office gross.
Burton’s agent Mike Simpson, a partner at the William Morris Endeavor agency, was credited with helping convince the cast to take the back end deals instead.
“Two months went by where every day the movie almost died,” Simpson told the NYT.
Abdy and De Luca again began pre-production before the actors signed off on their restructured deals.
“That showed real guts, especially for two executives who were fairly new in their jobs,” Simpson said of the studio executives.
As for the reception to the box-office success of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” at WBD? De Luca shared that there is “dancing in the hallways, smiles on faces,” adding, “There is really nothing better for morale than a hit.”
And while other top WBD properties such as “Joker 2” are also opening soon in theaters, De Luca admitted that predicting what will do well in theaters is still a “crapshoot.”
“It always will be,” he said. “I think that’s part of the excitement.”
