Warner Bros. to Pursue 'Green Lantern' Sequel

The studio won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film’s soft box office performance.

Warner Bros. is already planning a sequel to Ryan Reynolds' superhero pic Green Lantern, despite the film’s soft performance at the box office.

Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is “somewhat disappointed” with Green Lantern’s result.

Over the weekend, Green Lantern fell a steep 66% at the domestic box office, grossing $18.4 million for a cume of $89.3 million. That’s a big decline.

Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the movie is settling in, pointing out that fanboy pics often see a significant drop-off in their second weekends.

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Still, Green Lantern fell off more than recent superhero pics Thor and X-Men: First Class. Thor dropped 47% in its second weekend, while First Class dropped 56%.

Similar films that have seen the same sort of dip that Green Lantern did include Hulk, which dropped nearly 70% in its second outing.

Green Lantern cost $200 million to produce before a sizeable marketing spend (rival studios say it was one of the most expensive on record). Warners, preparing for the end of Harry Potter, needs new franchises, so was willing to invest big in Green Lantern.

A formidable obstacle standing in Green Lantern’s way now is Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opens in theaters around the globe on Tuesday night.