WB Wanted BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE To Go Straight To Streaming And “The Movie Is Almost Dead”

After years of trying to make a sequel to Beetlejuice, we finally succeeded with Beetle Juice Beetle Juice AND Tim Burton’s World returned to direct with michelle keaton returning as the strongest Ghost.

Burton expressed his enthusiasm for the film, but the highly anticipated sequel nearly skipped a theatrical release, instead going straight to streaming on Max.

According to the New York Times, the previous Warner Bros. regime was trying to release the Beetle Juice sequel directly to streaming before the film received the official greenlight from WB Motion Picture Group co-chairmen and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who took over that role in 2022.

Abdy spoke about the streaming launch in an interview, saying, “It would never have worked for Tim. We’re talking about a visionary artist whose films demand to be seen on a big screen.”

Burton is also said to have had a falling out with the studio over costs and distribution, as Warner Bros. was concerned about spending an estimated $147 million on a sequel to a 36-year-old film, with a director who hadn’t had a major hit since Disney’s 2010 live-action Alice in Wonderland.

Warner Bros. eventually agreed to release the film theatrically if the budget was less than $100 million; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cost $99 million to produce.

To help make all this possible, Burton, Keaton, actress, Catherine O’HaraAND Jenna Ortega everyone agreed to accept less money up front in exchange for a larger share of the final outcome.

Burton’s agent, Mike Simpson, told The Times that before filming, “there were two months where the movie was in danger of dying every day.”

The film ended up grossing $264 million at the global box office since its theatrical release. So, everyone stands to make a lot of money from the film.