No surprise it flopped. The script writer and director could have made a reboot, with women, and had it work if they put some legitimate effort into the story and dialogue. Answering questions like "what things about the supernatural fascinates the different characters?", "what motivations do the characters have in developing / using technology to hunt and trap ghosts?", "why and how much will be borrowed or referenced from the first movie set?", "what story theme are we trying to get across to the viewers?", "what plot points and character moments will appeal to certain viewers that they will identify with?", and finally, "what 'hook' will work best in bringing the cast back for another sequel?"
But they didn't bother. They really didn't try at all to spend the hours necessary in answering some of those basic questions and how they would relate to each other when a final story was developed. It as just.... half assed crap. Movie viewers have seen GOOD films, including reboots, and can judge for themselves if something will be garbage rather than be threatened that they're being politically incorrect over something totally unrelated to movie quality.
Lastly, China makes up a HUGE number of viewers and revenue for films. They screwed up by not having an asian (Chinese would be best for max returns) lady as one of the four. China loves big explosions and CGI and stuff flying at them, but aren't big at all on black actors or a cast without an Asian to identify with. Just stating the obvious based on revenue facts.
|