Abu Dhabi-backed blockbuster disappoints at box office

The sequel to Hollywood blockbuster Ghost Rider, which was co-produced by Abu Dhabi film company Image Nation, has had a disappointing opening at the US box office, earning less than half of the original 2007 movie.

‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ opened in the US on Friday and earned $22m at the box office over the President’s Day weekend in the US, less than half the $45.4m earned by the first movie five years ago.

The movie is based on a Marvel Comics’ character and stars Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a vigilante motorcyclist who sold his soul to Devil.

The disappointing haul resulted in the sequel, which was filmed in 3D, coming in at number three in the US box office.

Number one movie Safe House earned $24m from 3121 screenings, while the Abu Dhabi-backed Ghost Rider sequel earned $22m from 3,174 screenings, 2,352 of which showed the movie in 3D and incur more expensive ticket prices.

However, the movie may still see a return as the budget for the sequel was reduced to $57m, compared to the $110m for the original.

“Ghost Rider is an established brand and the movie had a robust marketing effort, so it really should have opened much higher than $22 million,” said Ray Subers of industry website boxofficemojo.com

Subers put the fault for the movie’s underperformance with leading man Nicholas Cage. “His star has faded in recent years with an abundance of bizarre and disappointing projects,” Subers said in his analysis.

Despite this setback, Abu Dhabi’s Image Nation has had massive success at the box office in recent months with the international movies it has been involved in. Thriller Contagion, which cost $60m to produce, opened in September at number one and has so far reported sales of $135m around the world.

Award-winning US civil right independent film The Help, which was filmed on a relatively modest budget of $25m, opened at the same time and has so far earned a massive $206m.