Universal’s “Dark Universe” was off to a rocky start with ‘The Mummy‘ receiving poor box office reviews and sales stateside but global sales are bringing the idea of a sequel back to life. Initial viewing made it seem like the thought of a sequel was going to be wrapped up, buried, and forgotten about but having passed $407 million at the global box office means there is a chance for more. Having only made $30 million during the opening weekends in June with only about $80.1 million before it bowed out really made it seem as if Tom Cruise wouldn’t be back for more.
While stateside it didn’t do well, the foreign box office made $169 million over the opening weekend and had become the largest opening for a Tom Cruise movie in international markets. Even so, it was initially looking to lose $95 million at the box office which is no longer the case. The final push to breaking $400 million came from the Chinese market where it has made over $91 million and has been quite well received. In fact, before the foreign market results started coming in, the future of Alex Kurtzman in organizing the future of the “Dark Universe” was uncertain.
The initial run put Universal Pictures’ entire Dark Universe in question with how much they were spending on the cast and crew for their upcoming films such as ‘The Bride of Frankenstein,’ ‘The Wolf Man’ and ‘The Invisible Man.’ With how ‘The Mummy’ ended on a cliffhanger anyone who was a fan would have ended up annoyed that a follow-up never happened.
For the sake of the Dark Universe, it would appear that future budgets for films in this franchise will have to be lowered and potentially the target audience will have more of a focus for the non-US market. Only time will tell.
Are you happy that ‘The Mummy’ isn’t going to be put in the ground and forgotten or do you wish that this had been a one and done for the Dark Universe? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Screen Rant
