Ghost In The Shell set to lose $60 million at the box office
Paramount says that this may be due to the film's 'whitewashing' controversy
Poor box office viewings mean Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks' new release Ghost In The Shell could lose around $60 million.
The film, which casts American actress Scarlett Johansson as Japanese protagonist The Major, was accused of 'whitewashing' and Paramount's distribution chief Kyle Davies admitted that this may have played a part in the dismal showings.
"We had hopes for better results domestically. I think the conversation regarding casting impacted the reviews. You've got a movie that is very important to the fanboys since it's based on a Japanese anime movie.
"So you're always trying to thread that needle between honouring the source material and make a movie for a mass audience. That's challenging, but clearly, the reviews didn't help.”
Fans also criticised the film for not addressing the philosophical concepts such as holding a higher consciousness outside the body, which are questioned in the original anime.
Ghost In The Shell had a $110 million budget (which would realistically amount to $250 million when promotional costs are included), but only took $19 million on the opening weekend in the States and $2 million in the UK. The estimated global taking is $200 million, according to Deadline.
Check out the trailer for Ghost In The Shell below.
Jaguar is Mixmag's Weekend Editor. Follow her here
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