Peter and Bobby Farrelly‘s Dumb and Dumber To nearly fell apart after Jim Carrey reportedly walked out after he felt that Warner Brothers was less than enthusiastic about the seuqel. A few months after, Jeff Daniels quelled some fears saying that Carrey wants to be back, and that production for the long-gestating sequel would begin soon. But that’s history.
The Hollywood Reporter has word now that the studio is dropping the project from its distribution slate, which means that competing distributors are now able to buy the rights for the film.
Sources say the studio sees only limited upside in a follow-up and is unwilling to give it the greenlight, despite a budget in the low $30 million range. (The decision comes in the wake of the poor March performance of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, the Steve Carrel-Steve Buscemi comedy that had Carrey as a featured co-star. That movie also cost in the $30 million range but grossed only $22 million domestically.)
Though the first film was a huge success, the fact that it has taken nearly two decades for a sequel to even head into production doesn’t really bode well for Harry and Lloyd. The fact that WB sees limited upside in releasing a sequel isn’t good news either.
We can probably speculate that WB wasn’t impressed with the script they were handed. They are still feeling the sting of the box office bomb that was The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, so not even a sequel of a comedy hit with its stars returning is enough for WB to give it the greenlight. But that doesn’t mean that Dumber and Dumber To is completely off the grid. Someone is bound to pick it up.
[Source: THR]
Thank God. No more Carrey is great w/ me.
Comment by FJoachim — June 10, 2013 @ 10:35 pm