Crafting a hit franchise is way harder than it looks, but this does not stop movie studios from trying to get the ball rolling on something that can rival the MCU. Sure, it's nice that the DCEU is thriving, but for every DCEU, there are several Dark Universes that never even get off the ground.
In 2017, Power Rangers attempted to become the next successful film franchise, but instead of becoming a juggernaut at the box office, the franchise's debut flick lost a ton of money.
Let's look back at Power Rangers and see how it lost millions of dollars.
'Power Rangers' Was Supposed To Be A Hit
The Power Rangers franchise is one that has been around for decades now, and after getting its start on television, the franchise wound up dabbling in movies, comics, video games, and just about everything else that it could slap a logo on.
Fans have been tuning in and following their favorite Rangers for years on end now, and while some people eventually move on and find other interests, others have stuck by the franchise and have continued to watch it grow and expand. Many of the most famous Rangers in history still attend Comic Cons and represent, while getting the chance to rub elbows with the fans who helped make the franchise a hit.
There have been some interesting Power Rangers movies that have been made over time, with some even getting the chance to make something happen on the big screen. Just a few years back, Power Rangers was gearing up for release, and it had all the potential in the world to become a mega hit.
It Did Decent At The Box Office
In March of 2017, Power Rangers finally hit theaters, and the fans could not wait to finally see a big screen flick with the newest Rangers. Sure, the franchise had been around for years by that point, but this movie had a huge opportunity to put a fresh take on things and to kickstart what could have been an insanely lucrative film franchise.
Thanks to a solid opening weekend, there was some optimism about how the film could perform in the long run.
As noted by Forbes, "Yes, it's early, and we don't know how the film will play after opening weekend and around the world. But for the moment, Saban's Power Rangers performed about as well as could have been expected. The $110 million-budgeted origin story, which offered a darker, more grounded and far more expensive variation on the ongoing kid-targeted television show, snagged a rock-solid $40.5m debut weekend."
At the box office, the film brought in a collective global total that was just north of $140 million. This was not exactly what the studio was looking for, but it was not a total disaster. Some big time movies just don't catch on with audiences in the way some would expect, and most people believed that Power Rangers could have done bigger business than what it did during its theatrical run.
Once the dust had settled from Power Rangers' theatrical release, the studio was suddenly chalking the flick up as a financial loss.
It Lost Millions
Unfortunately, the movie's budget and marketing costs were simply too high in relation to what it brought in at the box office, and the film lost millions. Lukewarm reviews from fans and critics also played a major part in the film sinking.
According to ScreenRant, "Its production budget (which does not include marketing costs) is reportedly $100 million - a modest amount when compared to other titles. Going by the old industry rule of thumb, this means the movie needs to gross approximately $200 million globally just to make all of its money back. Anything it earns beyond that point can be considered profit. And this is where things really start to go south for the Rangers."
Alas, Power Rangers was never able to reach that lofty $200 million mark, and it wound up losing the studio a ton of money. According to The Numbers, the project lost nearly $75 million, making it anything but a success.
This was not what the studio was hoping for, and instead of a sequel being put in the works immediately, talks of that eventually slowed down and petered out.
Interestingly, it looks like the franchise will be getting a reboot at some point down the line, and fans will be watching to see how things play out this time around. Bryan Edward Hill will be helming the new project, and there is hope that this movie won't lose the studio millions of dollars.