Audiences have been saying for years that they weren’t all that into Hellboy as a franchise or an IP. But despite Guillermo del Toro (understandably) getting the Internet on his said when big-bad Hollywood told him “No” for Hellboy 3, it would seem in this case that Hollywood was right. Well, sort of. Millennium’s R-rated reboot (which is distributed in North America and the UK by Lionsgate) began life as a true sequel to The Golden Army, but they (correctly) wanted a smaller budget than the $66 million original or the $75 million-budgeted sequel, and the Shape of Water filmmaker walked and took Ron Perlman with him.
So, rather than take the Batman Forever route of getting a new cast and crew (David Harbour is fine in the title role) but continuing the continuity (which had its own obstacles), we’ve got a $50 million-budgeted, R-rated Hellboy reboot that pleased absolutely nobody this weekend, earning miserable reviews and $12 million over the weekend. That’s below even the $13.6 million debut weekends of Underworld: Blood Wars and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in early 2017.
And, yeah, it’s way below the $23 million debut of Hellboy in 2004 and the $35 million debut of Hellboy II: The Golden Army in 2008. Yes, it may break bigger overseas (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter earned $156 million in China two years ago), but this one is unquestionably a domestic dud. It will be lucky to earn even $30 million domestic, and frankly $26 million is a closer guestimate.
Yes, I loved The Golden Army too, but this failed property reboot is a good reason not to listen to the Internet about what properties deserve a third chance. In a world less obsessed with IP and franchises, this Hellboy reboot would never have been a thing. You had a franchise that existed with strong reviews, a beloved geek-friendly director and an environment where superhero movies were still somewhat rare, and both films still failed to justify themselves financially.
Hellboy earned $99 million in 2004 on a $66 million budget, while Hellboy II: The Golden Army earned $160 million in 2008 on an $85 million budget. This is a reboot that existed purely because it is somewhat known, not because it was demanded by anyone. Even if you’d argue that nostalgia and changing demographics would’ve made a third Ron Perlman Hellboy into a bigger deal, this R-rated reboot did little to entice newbies while alienating the faithful fanbase.
This reboot depended entirely on whether the mere idea of a Hellboy film was enticing to general moviegoers or at least being so good that it appealed to folks who didn’t care about the IP. The movie is miserable (no thanks to the behind-the-scenes melodrama), even audiences gave it a C, and the fanbase just wasn’t big enough. Once again, it is yet more evidence that the legacy sequel is far more valuable than the straight-up reboot.
