The screening of Beetlejuice 2 in Venice reveals a true return to form for gothic film auteur Tim Burton, reviving the director’s critical acclaim and commercial success after Dumbo‘s unfortunate disappointments in 2019. Arriving 36 years after the 1988 original Beetlejuice movie, Burton returns to the cinematic director’s chair as he continues the story of the Deetz family tree and the mischievous Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Following on the heels of his success with Netflix’s Wednesday season 1 in the fall of 2022, Warner Bros. is officially releasing Beetlejuice 2 on September 6, 2024 in theaters.
Following its Venice Film Festival premiere on August 28, 2024, the sequel is a resounding success for Tim Burton and Beetlejuice 2’s cast with overwhelmingly positive reviews and outstanding box office projections. Burton’s last movie was the infamous 2019 live-action remake of Dumbo, which received mixed reviews from critics while becoming a box office flop for Disney. The movie holds a 46% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned only $353 million worldwide against a $170 million budget. Burton took a five-year gap from directing films after Dumbo’s misfire, but has finally returned with his official cinematic comeback.
Beetlejuice 2 Is Already The Critical & Box Office Success That Tim Burton Deserves After Dumbo’s Failures
Beetlejuice 2 Has Great Early Reviews & Impressive Box Office Projections
Rotten Tomatoes has calculated an official 78% critics’ score after the Venice Film Festival, confirming the majority of Beetlejuice 2‘s early reviews have been positive. Considering Beetlejuice 2 returns Tim Burton to his career origins with his gothic, goofy, practical, handmade, and creatively inspiring approach, the positive reviews for the sequel indicate a welcome return to form for the filmmaker. The film has been praised for Burton’s trademark touch, the cast and crew’s passion being tangible on screen, the performances, with Catherine O’Hara as a standout, and its emotional family-centered story.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, box office experts are projecting Beetlejuice 2 to have an $80 million domestic opening weekend. Warner Bros. is reportedly projecting a smaller number of $65 to $75 million in North America. Beetlejuice 2‘s projections are on par with some of 2024’s highest-grossing movies so far, indicating Burton may have his biggest box office hit since 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, which made over $1 billion. Considering Burton already proved himself capable of recapturing his early-career magic in Wednesday, Beetlejuice 2’s commercial and critical success are inspiring to see as his big-screen comeback continues.
According to the rule of thumb estimating that a movie must make 2.5 times its production budget to break even, Dumbo would have needed to earn over $425 million to be a commercial success.
What Tim Burton & Michael Keaton Have Said About Dumbo’s Divisive Reactions
Dumbo Almost Ended Tim Burton’s Film Career
In many ways, Dumbo is very fitting material for Tim Burton to adapt with his own gothic flare and style. The movie follows an outcast in a fantastical world driven by greed, with poignant themes that connect to many of Burton’s best movies. Unfortunately, Dumbo‘s live-action remake didn’t land with the majority of critics or audiences, and couldn’t muster up the same box office success of Burton’s previous live-action remake, Alice in Wonderland.
Dumbo underperforming critically and commercially on such a big scale nearly marked the end of Burton directing projects for the big screen.
After a series of moderate critical successes and varying box office performances, Dumbo underperforming critically and commercially on such a big scale nearly marked the end of Burton directing projects for the big screen. Ahead of Beetlejuice 2‘s release, Burton disclosed to Variety that he considered retiring from filmmaking after Dumbo, citing struggles with Hollywood, balancing budgets, and compromises that contributed to the 2019 movie’s disappointment:
After Dumbo, I really didn’t know. I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired… Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit. [Beetlejuice Beetlejuice] reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.
After Dumbo, Burton cut ties with Disney – and not for the first time in his career. In 2022, Burton discussed with Deadline more of his struggles with Disney and its focus on big tentpoles over independent projects, explaining that his experience on Dumbo was comparable to the plot of the movie itself, “working in this big horrible circus.” However, after Wednesday came along and Burton felt his creativity and enthusiasm in the industry being revitalized, he used that momentum to make Beetlejuice 2, returning him to the smaller, more self-driven, creatively inspired projects that defined his early career.
Michael Keaton portrayed the villainous V.A. Vandevere in Dumbo , his fourth collaboration with Tim Burton after Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), and Batman Returns (1992).
With Michael Keaton receiving widespread acclaim for his performance as Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice 2, the actor has also reflected on his last collaboration with Burton. Candidly, the actor told the New York Times that he “let [Burton] down on one movie,” referring to Dumbo. Keaton elaborated, “I was clueless on Dumbo. I sucked on Dumbo.” The actor-director duo have echoed disappointments in Dumbo, but united in praising Beetlejuice 2 as a triumphant return to the type of movie they personally enjoy making. This approach certainly paid off, giving Keaton and Burton their first critically acclaimed box office hit since Batman Returns.
Beetlejuice 2 Finally Returns Tim Burton To His Most Iconic Movie Era & Origins
Tim Burton Goes Back To The Practical Effects, Ingenuity & Heart Of His Early Movies
The 2010s gradually saw Tim Burton depart from the filmmaking approach that defined his successful early movies like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, his Batman films, and Big Fish. These films highlighted the trademarks, themes, and creative design that became synonymous with Tim Burton as an autuer, from practical effects to poignant outcast-driven narratives to the whimsical macabre of his worlds. But, that started to wane as Burton took on bigger CGI-heavy, studio-influenced projects like Alice in Wonderland, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and Dumbo.
Beetlejuice 2 feels like proper Tim Burton again, not the “brand” that studios may have adjusted to fit big-budget visions.
That isn’t to say that he had no great films during this time, with Big Eyes and Frankenweenie being standouts, but that the Burton of the ’80s and ’90s began to fade, just as the director himself noted to Variety. Dumbo was perhaps Burton’s biggest departure yet from his distinctive creative approach, which is one reason why Beetlejuice 2‘s return to practical effects, a self-reflective story of outcasts and bizarre macabre worlds, and a playfulness in filmmaking is so refreshing. Beetlejuice 2 feels like proper Tim Burton again, not the “brand” that studios may have adjusted to fit big-budget visions.
Beetlejuice 2’s Success Is Extremely Promising For Tim Burton’s Next Movie
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman Is More Primed To Be A Hit
After Beetlejuice 2, Tim Burton is returning to his B-movie sci-fi horror inspirations with a remake of 1958’s Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Burton’s most critically acclaimed movie is 1994’s Ed Wood, which pays tribute to the titular filmmaker, the era of sci-fi horror movies in the 1950s, and the passionate spirit of outcasts in Hollywood. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman takes Burton back to this focus and passion from his work in the 1990s, which has far more promising prospects after Beetlejuice 2 successfully brought him back to his beloved ‘80s filmmaking approach.