Ghost In The Shell set to lose $60 million at the box office - News - Mixmag
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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

  • Mixmag Staff
  • 7 April 2017

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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