Sequel hopes DESTROYED for which 2017 blockbuster flop? And it's NOT King Arthur
GUESS which big-budget 2017 superhero film has just seen its hopes of a sequel disappear?
Lionsgate film Power Rangers flops in China
Much of the industry focus over the past week has been on the poorly performing King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Another blockbuster has also been performing badly and the latest disastrous figures from the weekend's box office seems to have put a nail in the coffin of any sequel hopes.
Power Rangers limped to a disappointing $84million at the US box office but there were hopes, as so often in the past, that perhaps the Chinese box office would supply a last-minute miracle.
Instead, the opposite has happened.
Trailer for HIGHLY anticipated 'Power Rangers' movie
A catastrophic opening weekend in China brought in only $3.3million.
By contrast, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 netted $48million in China on its opening weekend and Fate of the Furious was still pulling in almost $5million in its fourth week.
The distinctly underpowered Power Rangers has a declared budget of $100million before any marketing costs and is looking likely to barely break even.
WHY DID KING ARTHUR FLOP SO BADLY?
Power Rangers is now unlikely to get a sequel
Unfortunately this spells disaster for any follow-ups to a movie that was originally intended to launch a new blockbuster franchise.
Box office analysis site Exhibitor Relations spelled it out bluntly.
A tweet today said: "Bye Bye, POWER RANGERS. Lionsgate's reboot debuted with just $3.3M in China this weekend. Sequel hopes...going, going...gone."
Although King Arthur also debuted with a slightly higher take in China the same weekend, it is also unlikely to see any of the projected six further sequels.
King Arthur took just over $5million but is currently on a dismal global total of $6million. To make matters even worse, the production budget alone was estimated at $175million.
Although some fans online are bemoaning the new influence that the Chinese box office is having on Hollywood productions, the fact remains that Power Rangers would not have needed saving last weekend had it already performed considerably better in the US and othe markets.