Tim Burton’s Remake Of 66-Year-Old Horror Movie Now Has A Huge Challenge After Beetlejuice 2

By Jordan Williams

Published Sep 20, 2024

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Tim Burton already has a follow-up movie to Beetlejuice 2’s stellar reviews and box office performance providing his biggest hit in over a decade.

Even before his hit 2024 movie was released in theaters, it was announced that Tim Burton was attached to direct the remake of 1958’s Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. The classic sci-fi horror movie is right up Burton’s alley, harking back to his dabbling in the genre with Mars Attacks! in 1996 and biopic of sci-fi horror director Ed Wood in 1994. While Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being a resounding success makes the anticipation for Burton’s Attack of the 50 Foot Woman movie greater, there’s also now more pressure for the remake to keep up his horror hot streak.

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After Beetlejuice 2 became Tim Burton’s first sequel movie in 32 years since Batman Returns, Burton is now set to make his first remake since his 2019 live-action reimagining of Disney’s 1941 animated classic Dumbo. Burton is no stranger to remakes or reimaginings of classic films, as his movies Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, and Dumbo technically fall into this category. Frankenweenie, however, was a feature stop-motion animated remake of Burton’s own 1984 live-action short film of the same name.

Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows a Martian from Mars Attacks and Johnny Depp as Ed Wood

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Tim Burton has proven he hasn’t lost his touch with sequels to his own hit movies, but his film remakes have been a mixed bag in the past. Frankenweenie was a critical success, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland both giving him huge box office successes. Meanwhile, Planet of the Apes, Dark Shadows, and Dumbo received mixed reviews, while the latter two were notable box office disappointments. Now, Burton is embarking on his next remake venture as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman sees him reimagining the cult sci-fi B movie from director Nathan H. Juran.

Perhaps harshly, the bar for Burton’s movies to be considered successful had been lowered since about 2012.

Any confirmation of another Tim Burton movie after Dumbo has been exciting, but there’s a different context to this anticipation after Beetlejuice 2. Before the sequel became a critical and commercial hit, the expectations for Burton’s movie were arguably at a historic low. Perhaps harshly, the bar for Burton’s movies to be considered successful had been lowered since about 2012. After Alice in Wonderland made over $1 billion in 2010, his next two follow-ups in 2012 were box office disappointments, with the underappreciated Frankenweenie still standing as Burton’s highest-rated movie since 2007’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Beetlejuice 2 Key Statistics
Rotten Tomatoes Score	77%
Worldwide Box Office (So Far)	$267 million

His movies between 2012 and 2019 followed a pattern of generally having mediocre or disappointing commercial performances with mixed or slightly positive reviews. Therefore, if Beetlejuice 2 had been another mediocre box office performance with mixed critical reviews, then the expectations going into his Attack of the 50 Foot Woman remake wouldn’t be as high. However, there’s now much more pressure for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman to continue Tim Burton’s comeback success with another critically acclaimed, crowd-pleasing, popular box office hit like Beetlejuice 2.

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The Martian ambassador looks on in Mars Attacks!

Alongside his success with Wednesday on Netflix, Beetlejuice 2 brought Burton’s horror-comedy prowess on the big screen back on track. However, there’s another genre that he has had varying success with over the years, with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman putting Burton's modern touch on the sci-fi horror category to the test. Burton’s biggest outings in the sci-fi genre include Mars Attacks! in 1996, Planet of the Apes in 2001, and Ed Wood in 1994, though the latter is technically a biopic drama about the 1950s sci-fi film genre.

Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) with googly eyes and a long, drooling tongue after being shown a picture of Delores in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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Ed Wood remains the Tim Burton movie with the greatest critical acclaim, holding a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This successful biopic was followed by the star-studded sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! in 1996, which divided critics as it holds a mixed 56% score on the review aggregator site. In 2001, Burton directed the remake of Planet of the Apes, which is also a divisive outing with a 42% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Tim Burton Sci-Fi Movie Title	Rotten Tomatoes Score	Box Office
Mars Attacks! (1996)	56%	$101.3 million
Planet of the Apes (2001)	43%	$362.2 million

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman now marks his big return to the genre, which will hopefully be the project that finally gives Burton a sci-fi movie with critical and commercial success. With Beetlejuice 2, Burton proves to be at his best when he’s putting together a story he’s ionate about and shares a strong personal connection with, and the hope is that this ion will also be applied to his remake.

This gives Burton the chance to not just redeem the movie’s story and cinematic value, but also give himself a great sci-fi movie that sures the quality of the original.

The 1958 Attack of the 50 Foot Woman movie holds a 71% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but has a reputation for some considering it one of the worst movies ever made. This gives Burton the chance to not just redeem the movie’s story and cinematic value, but also give himself a great sci-fi movie that sures the quality of the original. After Ed Wood already celebrated the underappreciated gems of the 1950s sci-fi horror B movies, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is his chance to bring this subgenre to mainstream popularity with a classic story.

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman's Remake Already Has An Exciting Twist For Tim Burton

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman's Remake Has An Acclaimed Writer Attached

In addition to Burton being attached as the director, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman’s remake has another exciting voice behind it with writer Gillian Flynn. The Gone Girl author is attached to write the screenplay for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, with Flynn being well known for her dark twists, dramatic familial explorations, and acclaimed thriller plots. Therefore, her role with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman suggests Burton’s take on the classic sci-fi movie remake will be much darker than the 1958 original, continuing his dark family-focused approach to Beetlejuice 2 after his relatively lighter 1988 movie.

The 1958 Attack of the 50 Foot Woman movie had a reported budget of $88,000. It's unclear how big the remake's budget will be after Warner Bros. and Tim Burton made Beetlejuice 2 for $100 million.

Tim Burton and Gillian Flynn collaborating on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman’s remake is great news for the movie’s critical prospects and story adjustments. While Flynn will presumably put a much darker twist on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Burton is expected to work in more macabre horror elements that highlight the struggles of the outcast. With Attack of the 50 Foot Woman also being another Warner Bros. project, Tim Burton is seemingly intent on continuing his dark horror hot streak with the studio after their big victory with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Sources: Rotten Tomatoes