Summary

• Tim Burton's movie with Warner Bros. is a chance for the director to redeem a past Depp flop.
• Burton's diverse filmography includes both hits and flops, with some of his best movies being financial disappointments.
• Beetlejuice 2 is a promising return to Warner Bros. for Burton, aiming to avoid the budget issues of Dark Shadows.

While Tim Burton's 2024 movie is exciting for many reasons, the movie’s studio alone gives the director a chance to redeem an expensive Johnny Depp flop. Tim Burton has directed many hit movies over the years, and this makes it easy for viewers to forget that he has also weathered his fair share of flops. In the same decade that Burton enjoyed box office success like Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns, he helmed the biopic Ed Wood, which earned under $6 million on a budget of $18 million (via The Numbers). His next movie, Mars Attacks!, also underperformed upon release.

Fortunately for Burton, hits like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow ensured that he never fell far out of favor with studios. Furthermore, some of Tim Burton’s best movies are among his financial flops, so the director could usually rely on good reviews to salvage the movies that didn’t succeed at the box office. However, 2012 saw Burton release a largely forgotten flop that performed badly at the box office and left critics cold. This starry soap opera revival was Burton’s last movie for Warner Bros. before he moved to Disney, a change he recently reversed.

Beetlejuice 2 Is Tim Burton's First Movie With Warner Bros. Since Dark Shadows

Burton’s long streak with Disney comes to an end with the sequel.

After several movies with Disney, Burton is back working with Warner Bros. for the first time since Dark Shadows. A muddled reboot of the gothic TV series of the same name, Dark Shadows was an uneasy blend of comedy, horror, melodrama, and mystery that starred an ensemble cast including Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, and Chloe Grace Moretz. Dark Shadows was a major box office bomb, which means that Burton’s sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will likely mark a return to form for the director’s collaborations with Warner Bros. after Dark Shadows upended their longstanding, successful relationship.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the perfect Warner Bros. comeback for Burton...

Although Dark Shadows did perform better overseas than in America, the critically derided movie was still a bitter end to what had been a fruitful collaboration between Warner Bros and Burton. Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns, and Corpse Bride were all produced by Warner Bros, meaning some of Burton’s best critical successes and biggest box office hits were with the distributor. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the perfect Warner Bros. comeback for Burton since the original 1989 movie was an early instance of the company trusting the director’s vision and getting a $75 million reward for this at the box office.

Beetlejuice 2 Already Seems To Be Avoiding A Huge Mistake From Dark Shadows

Burton’s classic TV show reboot didn’t need its astronomical budget

The budget for Dark Shadows was $150 million, which was bizarrely high for what was intended to be a campy throwback to a forgotten TV series. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice utilizing practical effects more heavily, it seems unlikely that the sequel’s budget would balloon to such a massive figure. Dark Shadows made nearly $250 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), but the movie still failed financially because of its massive budget. Luckily, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice doesn't seem to be repeating that mistake. Furthermore, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s box office prospects are helped by the brand recognition that Tim Burton’s Johnny Depp flop lacked.

Sources: The Numbers, Box Office Mojo