By:  Katey Rich

Jack Reacher had all the makings of a franchise. It starred Tom Cruise, of course–still a movie star after all these years– and went heavy on the action and the mystery in its twisty plot. And it had the bonus of a ton of source material to draw from, the first film based on the character from Lee Child‘s wildly popular series of Reacher books. You see those books in every single airport newsstand, and odds are your dad or uncle has read more than a few, What could possibly have gone wrong with the transition to the screen?

Nothing went, wrong, exactly– Jack Reacher has made $153 million worldwide since its December 21 opening– but it didn’t go right enough to become the much-wanted franchise. At least, not yet. The Hollywood Reporter hears from sources inside Paramount that they’re waiting to see how the movie opens in Japan, China and Korea to decide on a sequel, but it’s going to have to perform especially well there to make a sequel worth it. The goal is for the film to make $250 million worldwide, a pretty tough challenge even factoring in the massive Chinese audience.

The problem isn’t that audiences have rejected Jack Reacher; it’s that they aren’t responding nearly as well as anyone expected based on both Cruise’s last star vehicle Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and the wild popularity of the Jack Reacher books. What exactly was lost in translation? Is there just something about books that you buy for $10 in the airport that makes them feel unimportant on the big screen? Your wild theories and explanations are welcomed in the comments.

Source: Cinema Blend