Lionsgate's 'Ballerina' Catch-22

Spending more on a 'John Wick' spin-off than you did on most of the 'John Wick' flicks was a risk, but the franchise is now known as much for big-budget visual flourishes as over-the-top action.

Universal just announced that David Harbour’s bemusing “Die Hard with Santa Claus” actioner, Violent Night, will be getting a sequel. I think we knew that, but now it’s got a release date, namely the same early December slot–in 2026, where Universal opened Krampus and Violent Night and will drop Five Nights at Freddy’s this year.

87North will, of course, produce. The original Violent Night opened in December 2022 and eventually earned $76 million worldwide on a $20 million budget, another small-ball success akin to Nobody which A) earned $57 million globally on a $16 million budget opening just before Godzilla vs. Kong “re-opened theaters” in early 2021 and B) will get a Timo Tjahjanto (!)-directed sequel this August. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s Ballerina found itself on the defensive after earning $50 million in its worldwide opening weekend.

To state the obvious, the Ana de Armas-led John Wick spin-off cost around $80 million, including reshoots, versus these smaller over/under $18 million flicks. Inflation aside, that’s more than the $30 million, $40 million and $75 million budgets for the first three John Wick films. If Ballerina had cost closer to John Wick 2 than John Wick 3, then a $50 million worldwide debut would have been excellent. So why so pricey?