Weinstein Company Shuts Down Halloween 3D. Halloween 2 Set For Re-Release.
By Hunter Stephenson/Sept. 29, 2009 7:08 pm EST
Per the next sequel, as Zombie stated even before the August release of H2, he had no plans to develop and direct a second sequel in his polarizing update of Michael Myers. Making things a bit confusing from the get-go then, was the public announcement of Halloween 3 (-D) almost immediately after H2 opened. No clarification was given as to why the number ‘3’ had to be involved, 3D gimmick aside, in the title, if the film wasn’t to follow what had come before. A director, Patrick Lussier, was quickly attached to the film, after having a surprise hit with My Bloody Valentine 3D, a remake of the cult ’80s slasher.
Finke says that TWC will simply proceed with the film once Lussier’s schedule clears. But according to IMDB, he only has one project currently in development, entitled Headhunter. It’s all a bit fishy. Could the so-so box office receipts for Zombie’s H2 also be to blame for the decision? Well, as aforementioned, why now if they saw the opening numbers before making the 3D announcement? Also up for debate is whether H2 did categorically “lousy” numbers, a claim Finke is fond of reiterating.
The film’s budget was only $15m, a bit low for such a high-profile sequel. Sure, Zombie’s first installment grossed a huge $30m opening weekend in 2007 and went on to gross nearly $60, so the sequel did half-and-half those final figures. But what Finke and many analysts overlook in the weeks after is that H2 opened on the same weekend as The Final Destination, an R-rated 3D franchise horror film that followed a similar success pattern as Halloween: $27m opening/$62m total (as of now). Chances are that H2 would have done gangbuster numbers in line with the first film without this head on collision, which is rare for any slasher sequel. See the diminishing returns for Platinum Dunes’ Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
Michael Myers may be chillin’, but he’s not on ice. (Worst sentence ever.)
