While it was intended to breathe new life into the franchise and launch its own series, Sony’s Men in Black spinoff Men in Black: International found itself savaged by critics and disappointed at the box office, grossing just $247 million worldwide – a far cry from the first three movies (the lowest of which, Men in Black II, earned $441.8 million back in 2002).
Given a $110 million production budget and $120 million spent on advertising, it’s been reported that Sony needed to see returns of around $300 million in order to break even on the spinoff. However, it seems it may not be the end of the road for the franchise, as Sony chairman Tom Rothman has admitted that while International failed to live up to the studio’s expectations, Men in Black “remains a very important asset that the company owns, and I would be very surprised if that is the last movie.”
“Have we had misses? Men in Black: International wasn’t particularly a financial disappointment because at the end of the day it’s going to do $250 and $300 million worldwide, but it certainly wasn’t a restart in the way that we hoped it would be,” said Rothman. “I think the truth of the matter is the audience really liked that film and the cast was wonderful, Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth were great and did a terrific job, but if we made any mistake, I think it probably was that there was not a strong enough idea in the story. Especially when you compare that to, say, Jumanji, which had a very, very strong idea.”
“The lesson of it is we have a pretty darn good batting average around here, but you are never going to bat 1.000, and you need to continue to take risks. But you have to try to manage risk,” Rothman continued. “In the case of Men in Black, we had two co-financiers on that movie and that manages the risk. I really do believe you cannot eliminate risk in the movie business. If you try to eliminate risk, you will eliminate creativity, and if you eliminate creativity, you will eliminate success.”
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What do you make of Rothman’s comments? Why do you think Men in Black: International failed at the box office, and do you have any appetite for another instalment in the series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
F. Gary Gray (The Fate of the Furious) is directing Men in Black: International from a script by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum (Iron Man) while the cast includes Thor: Ragnarok co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson alongside Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Liam Neeson (Taken), Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Rebecca Ferguson (Misson: Impossible – Fallout) and Emma Thompson, who reprises her Men in Black III role as as Agent O. It set for release on June 14th.
Originally published July 28, 2019. Updated July 29, 2019.
