Source: Los Angeles Times
Production costs have soared for Universal Pictures’ upcoming Evan Almighty.
The sequel to Bruce Almighty, with Steve Carell as a Noah-like congressman commanded by God to hoard hundreds of animals onto an ark the size of cruise liner, is experiencing money problems.
Because of unexpected costs for visual effects, what was supposed to be a $140 million movie has now ballooned to a $160 million one, and maybe as much as $175 million.
Taking into consideration the cost of marketing – probably hovering around $75 million – and you have $250 million spent before it hits theaters.
Action films, especially the Summer blockbuster variety, can afford to have heavy budgets, because they do well overseas. The same cannot be said of comedies, which rarely draw crowds in the international market.
Unless Steve Carell can pull a rabbit out of his hat, Universal Chairman Marc Shumger may be eating his words, as he has said that “this movie is a great bet.”
