‘Power Rangers’ Returns with a Vengeance with More Planned Sequels; Lionsgate stays Strong Despite Fourth-Quarter Earnings Decline

‘Power Rangers’ may become a full franchise with more planned sequels ahead. Lionsgate, the studio behind the film, reported a decline in its fourth-quarter earnings but remains optimistic that future releases will help pull the numbers up.

Lionsgate is moving towards the creation of a brand new franchise especially since its ‘Hunger Games’ series has concluded with the release of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2’ in November 2015. According to MovieWeb, CEO Jon Feltenhemier revealed during a conference call that he was excited to build on the upcoming reboot of ‘Power Rangers’ with numerous cinematic sequels. He said, "We are really, really excited about the Power Rangers movie. We could see doing five or six or seven.”

According to Gamespot, production for the ‘Power Rangers’ reboot began in February. Dean Israelite is serving as director while Marty Bowen, Brian Casentini, Wyck Godfrey, and Haim Saban are serving as producers. Brent O’Connor and Allison Shearmur are executive producing.

The upcoming film is considered the third theatrical release in the franchise and is based on the popular children’s television series ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’. The last film made was back in 1997, entitled ‘Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie’.

Members of the new cast include Naomi Scott as the pink ranger Kimberly Hart, Becky G as the yellow ranger Trini Kwan, Dacre Montgomery as red ranger Jason Lee Scott, RJ Cyler as the blue ranger Billy Cranston, and Ludi Lin as black ranger Zack Taylor. Elizabeth Banks was also cast to play the iconic villainess Rita Repulsa.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate earned $11.4 million net for its fourth fiscal quarter that ended March 31, according to another article on The Hollywood Reporter. This meant a 41% decline from last year’s profit of $19.5 million. Full-year earnings were down to $42.7 million from last year’s $181.7 million.

Feltheimer said in a statement, "Although last year's film slate didn't match the performance of previous years, this year's slate is bigger, more balanced and is expected to generate greater profitability."

Lionsgate’s film segment earned $181.7 million for the full fiscal year of 2016 against last year’s $1.82 billion while its TV division earned $640.1 million compared to 2015’s $707.5 million. The studio is looking to diversify its film slate and TV division to boost profit and remains optimistic for upcoming releases such as ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘Now You See Me 2’.