Last year, a new all-female reboot of Ghostbusters hit theaters. Though it grossed $229 million worldwide at the box office, that was off of a $144 million production budget. So adding the millions that was put into the marketing campaign, the film was barely a mild success. Thus, there will probably be no sequel. The film was fine, and with the way it ended, there was plenty of stories left to tell. But it all comes down to money, and if there isn’t any, then it isn’t worth it for the studio to take such a risk.

Now one of the Ghostbusters alum believes he knows why the reboot didn’t work. According to Dan Aykroyd, it was director Paul Feig. More on the story, below.

In Illumination’s latest film, Sing, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is holding a singing competition in his dying theater in a last ditch effort to scrounge up the money needed before the bank can repossess his beloved property. The optimistic koala settles on five contestants: a mouse (Seth MacFarlane), a timid elephant (Tori Kelly), a pig (Reese Witherspoon), a gorilla (Taron Egerton), and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson), in hopes that they can generate the funds necessary to keep the theater afloat but also bring back interest in genuine talent. Little does he know that the road to success isn’t easy, but with a little hard work and some faith, it can be done.

We had a phone interview with the film’s director Garth Jennings (A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Son of Rambow) to talk about what it was like to get clearance for the songs, working on his first animated film, his reaction to all the positive buzz, and much more. Check it out below.

Universal has released the final trailer for Illumination Entertainment’s Sing.

From the writer/director Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, the film is the sixth animation feature from the studio and features the voice talents of Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, alongside Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Grammy Award-nominated Tori Kelly. Check out the new trailer below.

It has been an uphill battle for the Sony marketing team ever since the first trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot came out. But when the first box office numbers came out, studio execs were quick to hail the film as a success and said that there would be a sequel without actually confirming that there would be one.

Now there is a sense that they may have jumped the gun a bit as a new report says Sony is possibly going to lose up to $70 million on the movie. More on the story below.

On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, Pokemon fever continues, social media reacts to an attempted coup in Turkey, an open letter from tech leaders to Donald Trump, Facebook’s diversity problem, Netflix boldly goes where no one has gone before … and much, much more!

Ghostbusters
Director: Paul Feig
Screenwriter: Paul Feig and Katie Dippold
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 116 minutes
Release Date: July 15, 2016

It’s easy to see why a reboot of a film like Ghostbusters could be met with such resistance. But that resistance has to come from the right place, otherwise it will sound like white noise. Now that we live in such a progressive period of time, we are more likely to see changes that would fuel such a resistance, and it’s no surprise that we are seeing that in Paul Feig‘s reboot, Ghostbusters.

The 1984 original film is such a classic film for many of us who have either lived during that time or have watched it on home video and learned of its existence through the two animated series. There is also the 1989 sequel, as well as board games, comic books, and video games, all of it based on the success of the franchise. Until now, there really hasn’t been any changes to the franchise, and as such there will be those who will probably have a strong attachment to the two films they are very familiar with. Which brings me back to the idea of resistance. No matter how you spin it, no matter how great it is, no matter how funny, there will be those who will not welcome this film with open arms. And that is the wrong way to approach it. The new Ghostbusters film, while flawed, is funny — very funny. It is one of those rare reboot comedies that’s sharp and clever, and isn’t afraid to make fun of itself or acknowledge some of those critics who may have been vocal about not wanting to see the film since it was first announced. The full review of 2016’s Ghostbusters is here below.

International box office numbers can be huge, but the one market that can have the biggest impact is China. Films like Warcraft and Pacific Rim can bomb in America but find huge success in China and earn enough box office revenue to give studios the confidence to greenlight a sequel. With Paul Feig‘s Ghostbusters starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon hitting American theaters this weekend, it only makes sense that China also gets a piece of that pie.

However, there is word that the film might not even make it there, ultimately hurting its worldwide box office gross. More on the story below.

The Ghostbusters reboot has been met with an inevitable catch 22, with an outcry of fans criticizing the film either mimicking the original too much or being too different from the original because of the contemporary tone. There doesn’t seem to be any way that the film can win.

Despite that, Sony will move forward with the new reboot directed by Paul Feig. The reboot stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the new team who will save their city from what McCarthy’s character describes as “The Apocalypse.” While we have all seen something like that before, we haven’t really seen it through the perspective of four very funny leading female comedians. And hopefully that will dispel any doubts or worries. Check out the new trailer for Ghostbusters below.

If the first Ghostbusters trailer didn’t quite live up to your to expectations, unless those expectations were to criticize Leslie Jones for playing an MTA employee and not a scientist – “It’s not a race thang,” the comedian assured critics and fans in a tweet – then a brand new international trailer might be to your liking.

Sony has just released the new international trailer for the Paul Feig-directed reboot, which features a bit more action than the first one, and more speaking lines for Chris Hemsworth. Check it out below.

It seems strange that we are getting a first look at Paul Feig‘s Ghostbusters starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. But we are. No matter how strange or weird the campaign strategy is, most of us have already expressed our thoughts on the idea that the film was being rebooted based on Ivan Reitman’s ’80s classic. And a trailer isn’t exactly going to change anyone’s opinion, although it could reinforce already established opinions.

Still, if you remain hopeful, then I suggest you check out the full trailer below and share your thoughts in the comments section.