Fans of macho posturing, OTT gunplay and Tom Cruise will be disappointed with the news that a prospective Jack Reacher sequel is unlikely to materialise, thanks to the film’s lukewarm showing at the box office.
The film opened promisingly enough to a $15m opening weekend, but has only managed to hit $70m in the domestic market, a total that doesn’t look sufficient to persuade Paramount to fund round two.
The film’s global gross stands at a more healthy $153m, although according to The Hollywood Reporter the studio is thought to want that figure to reach $250m before it will countenance giving a sequel the green light.
Adapted from Lee Child’s popular series of novels, there are plenty of further stories from which a sequel could be mined, but with the first film leaving audiences and critics moderately unmoved, it now seems an unlikely prospect.
The film could yet score highly in the Asian market, where Cruise is a hugely marketable star, but for now, it seems as though Jack Reacher’s big-screen career has been put on ice…
