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Deadline: Ghost in the Shell Film Will Lose At Least US$60 Million

Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Wednesday that Paramount Pictures' live-action Ghost in the Shell film is tracking with a US$60 million loss.

While the movie's stated budget is US$110 million, Deadline said some sources claim the actual cost to make the film was in more the US$180 million range. Deadline said that its estimate of a US$60 million loss is based on an estimated total earnings of US$200 million for the film (US$50 million domestically and US$150 million internationally), with a combined P&A (print & advertising) and production cost of the film being around US$250 million.

Deadline stated, however, that if the film's production cost was really closer to US$180 million instead of US$110 million, the film could be looking at a loss of more than US$100 million.

The film has so far underperformed at the box office after opening in the U.S. and some international markets on March 31. As of Wednesday, Box Office Mojo reports the film has earned US$23,072,150 domestically, and US$50,621,469 internationally for a global total of US$73,693,619. The film opened in Japan and China on Friday.

Deadline attributed the film's loss to a large production cost that did not reflect the popularity of the franchise, no corporate executive to guide the film, the film's marketing campaign, bad box office performance projections in China and Japan, the film's whitewashing controversy, the challenges of adapting anime and manga to live-action, and poor reviews.

According to Paramount domestic distribution chief Kyle Davies, "the conversation regarding casting impacted the reviews" for the film.

Source: Deadline (Anthony D'Alessandro, Anita Busch) via Cartoon Brew