Will 'Baywatch' Producer Scrap Plans For Sequel Now That Box Office Numbers Are In?

With a monstrous budget of above $60 million, Baywatch needed a hefty take at the box office to even break even. Unfortunately, Variety is reporting that "The rebooted property should land a three-day total of $18.1 million from 3,647 locations and end the four-day holiday weekend with $22 million (not counting the money it made in sneaks on Wednesday)."

This is not exactly the best news for Producer Beau Flynn who, just days before the movie's premiere, shared plans for a sequel:

"We have an amazing story already. We’re bringing back Shannon and Swift who wrote on the first one, and I know Dwayne would be in, I know Zac and all the girls would be. We just have this really cool idea to put them in this whole new world. We would take it overseas.”

While the numbers alone could be enough to halt production on additional movies, the critics certainly didn't help matters with their scathing reviews of Baywatch, although movie star, Dwayne Johnson, fiercely defended the movie:

What a shame to take this charming cast and maroon them in a morass of stale jokes and sub-sitcom-level plot twists in a remake that reads as a missed opportunity. —Common Sense Media

A stupidly entertaining trash folly, the kind that could only be made today: an obscenity-and-insult-laced, aggressively "competent" adaptation of a 25-year-old TV show. —Variety

Paramount's Distribution Chief, Megan Colligan, agrees the reviews were harsh but has hopes that the movie will do better overseas since the stars are about to start international promotions.

“I think we got pretty stung by reviews. It research tested extremely well. We’re hopeful that our international numbers will help us with our overall.”

Still, with a movie amassing far below its budget its opening weekend and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 19%, Flynn may change his mind about Baywatch, Part 2.