Lionsgate were full of surprises and confessions in their call with analysts this week. First, the studio revealed they want to make at least a dozen “Power Rangers” movies, and now they’ve fessed up that this spring’s rather poorly received “Allegiant” didn’t get the care you might expect the third movie in a YA franchise might receive.
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“Maybe we rushed the third movie a bit instead of taking our time with it. We wanted to hit a date,” CEO Jon Feltheimer stated. And the results speak for themselves.
Not only was the movie critically savaged, audiences just didn’t care — “Allegiant” is the worst performing movie in “The Divergent Series” by some measure, failing to crack $200 million worldwide like its predecessors, and not even $70 million domestic (both “Divergent” and “Insurgent” crossed $120 million at home). Even more, the rushed schedule forced director Robert Schwentke to take a breather, and exit his duties for the final installment, “Ascendant,” which at this point feels simply like an obligation, rather than a movie that audiences actually want to see.
It’s not every day in Hollywood that a major studio head will admit they put other concerns ahead of a quality product, so enjoy it while it lasts. As for “Ascendant,” you can continue your indifference to the series on June 9, 2017. [The Wrap]
