Beetlejuice Beetlejuice means Tim Burton has finally recovered from the $1 billion disappointment that led to his worst decade ever

The performance of Beetle juice Beetle juice shows that Tim Burton has finally recovered from the billion-dollar film that caused a crisis in his career. Burton is a filmmaker who rose to prominence in the mid-1980s with his debut feature Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and is best known for his gleefully macabre design sensibility, showcased in titles such as 1988 Beetle juice1990s Eduardo Scissorhandsand 2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In his career so far, he has been nominated for two Oscars. Both were nominated for Best Animated Film in 2005 Corpse Bride and 2012 Frankenweenie.

Burton’s latest project is Beetle juice Beetle juicethe legacy sequel to his horror-comedy hit, which sees him teaming up again with WednesdayJenna Ortega, as well as legacy stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, all reprising their roles from the original film. THE Beetle juice Beetle juice So far, the box office has reached an impressive $449.1 million against a budget of $100 million. At the time of writing, it is the seventh highest-grossing film of 2024, behind the blockbusters Panda Kung Fu 4, Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire, Dune: Part Two, Despicable Me 4, Deadpool and Wolverineand Inside Out 2.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was part of a larger career change and deeper decline

Disney’s remake was a success but a portent of doom

The biggest turning point that led to the decline of Tim Burton’s career was the 2010 release Alice in Wonderland. Disney’s live-action remake, which received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 50% on the Tomatometer, still became a huge box office success. It raised US$1.025 billion against its budget of approximately US$200 millionquickly becoming the highest-grossing film of the director’s entire career and remaining so throughout writing.

Alice in Wonderland not necessarily scored directly Burton’s change from eccentric author for gun rental studio. Your 2001 Planet of the Apes 2005 Roald Dahl remake and adaptation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saw him building on his work on the 2010 title. However, as the most successful film and the one that feels least tied to Burton’s inimitable style, Alice became the true marker of the career crisis that would come for Burton in the following years, as he pursued his success within a confining studio structure.

The 2010s were Tim Burton’s worst decade

It suffered both critically and commercially

Alice in Wonderland established the approach for Tim Burton’s films of the 2010s, which had more or less immediate diminishing returns. Although many of the designs he chose seemed to suit his iconic style, the decade saw him become more of a brand than a filmmakercapturing his style without including his unique voice and heart, with the exception of his stop-motion passion project Frankenweeniewhose origins date back to the beginning of his career in the 1980s.

This slow deflation of Burton’s career culminated in the 2019 release Dumboa Disney live-action remake that was a clear attempt to recreate the success of Alice in Wonderland that was a failure and led Burton to declare that he would prefer not to work with Disney again. Put IndieWirehe described the feeling of making the production as “working in this big horrible circus” and that the film’s themes became semi-autobiographical. Below, see a full breakdown of the post-Alice films of the 2010s:

As the table reflects, Burton’s films were unevenly received during the 2010s. Although he reached a high point with the consecutive releases of Frankenweenie and Big Eyeswhich were very well received and generated decent box office receipts, the rest of his films had average to downright poor reception. Since a film’s break-even point is typically two and a half times its production budget, it seems unlikely that Dark Shadows or Dumbo actually made a profit, while Miss Pilgrim it barely crossed the line, which may explain why a sequel never materialized.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is Tim Burton recovering

Your creativity has returned with everything

While Beetle juice Beetle juice is a property that exists because of the studios’ commercial interests, the film is, however, a return to form for Burtonbursting with the filmmaker’s unique and inimitable spirit to a degree that has not been seen in full in any of his films since at least Frankenweenie. In fact, Burton seems extremely creative and extremely engaged, as there are so many ideas in the film, as if he had 15 years of pent-up material ready to be brought to the screen.

Regardless, the director seems born out of a genuine interest in making a pure Tim Burton film rather than a superficial facsimile of the earlier films. This happens even though its existence is a clear nostalgic gamble, since Burton actually only uses the original as a starting point to fill the canvas with new ideas, expanding the franchise’s universe with bold strokes. Critics and audiences are responding well to this approachas Beetle juice Beetle juice Reviews gave the film a Certified Fresh score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside an even better audience score of 79%.

Can Tim Burton build on the success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?

Your next film could cement your creative rejuvenation

Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether the Beetle juice Beetle juice the release will be followed by more success for Burton. Outside of the Netflix series Wednesdayhe has no officially announced future projects. While a third Beetle juice would probably be a commercial success, his apprehension about the idea shows that he seems to still be in a mode where creativity is keywhich could work to boost your next film, whether it’s an original or IP-based project.

While it may be difficult for him to make an original project become a legacy sequel-level success, the success of Beetle juice Beetle juice and Wednesday suggest that there is still an appetite for “real” Tim Burton projects. Put Variety, the director himself has openly acknowledged the fact that the film feels like a return to formsaying that the production was “re-energizing“and that he appreciated”getting back to… things I love to do.” If that spirit continues with whatever comes next, it could very well evoke the same sensibility and become a similar hit.

Source: IndieWire & Variety