DREDD (2012): Sequel Killed, Short Film Coming, Kickstarter Discussed

Dredd  box office killed sequel, short film is next. A theatrical sequel to Dredd (2012) is unlikely do to its poor worldwide box office performance. I saw Dredd in theater the weekend it came out and loved it. I reviewed the movie here: Dredd (2012) Film Review. I wanted to see it twice in theater but it was gone before I got around to it. Dredd only made a $13.4 million gross domestically and a $22.1 million gross at the foreign box office for $35.6 million total worldwide.

Dredd producer Adi Shankar, recently spoke about Dredd‘s theater failure on Reddit AMA:

Asked: “Would you be able to give more background on why it is really unlikely to see a Dredd sequel. There is a solid fanbase and willing actors, even if there is still a lower budget..”

Shankar responded: “it’s because the movie totally bombed & R-rated movies are a tough sell to begin with.”

The conversation went on to what part marketing played in Dredd‘s downfall: “Please, tell me an entire marketing team was fired due to Dredd’s poor box office. It was a very, very good film, it just suffered from terrible marketing and branding (like adding 3D to the title).”

Shankar responded: “Ugh sooooooooooooooooooo agree with you RE adding 3D to the title. Ewww.”

I found this to be hilarious and very revealing. The lack of control Adi Shankar had over how the film was sold was illuminated by this simple statement. When I read it, I immediately thought of two things: Texas Chainsaw 3D and Avatar. If Avatar had not been 3D and had not been such a massive success, the 3D craze would not have happened and Dredd would never have been saddled with the 3D moniker as a sales point. Neither would the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre film.

I was really looking forward to Dredd‘s past being explored and seeing more aspects of Mega City One. Though that will not be happening in a theater setting any time soon, it may see an incarnation via a short film a la the Dirty Laundry (2012) Short Film.

When asked about Dredd‘s next screen adventure, Shankar responded: “I am working on a Dredd short in the vein of #DirtyLaundry”

Dirty Laundry was one of the best short films I have ever seen. It goes without saying that I am looking forward to Dredd‘s short film. Hopefully it will be as good as the Judge Minty (2010) Teaser Trailer.

One intrepid questioner pointed to the success of Veronica Mars on Kickstarter and asked if such a model could be used on a Dredd sequel.

Adi Shankar gave this reply: “the problem is a scifi project is intrinsically more expensive [than] a walking & talking movie … Veronica Mars only raised $2mil … which is a lot of money but not nearly enough to make a good sci-fi movie.”

Translation: That means that a Dredd sequel would most-likely cost $50 million (more or less) like the first film. That is a hefty sum for people to donate. It would be extraordinary if Shankar and company could raise that amount through crowd-funding but I don’t know if the film and the character’s fanbase is that large and that charitable.

What do you think of the news of no Dredd theatrical sequel?

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Source: Reddit, Boxofficemojo, Liveforfilms