Another Lap On The Yellow Brick Road: Can New 'Oz' Film Score At Box Office?

Arguably, no other film has been able to span generations in the manner of the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz."

When AT&T Inc. T-owned WarnerMedia subsidiary New Line Cinema announced plans for another cinematic journey over the rainbow, fans of the beloved film took to social media in varying degrees of unhappiness. But mean tweets and facetious Facebook posts aside, does another trip down the "yellow brick road" make commercial sense?

What Happened: For starters, the studio stressed it was aiming to remake L. Frank Baum's source material, the 1900 novel, "The Wonderful World of Oz."

Baum's novel inspired a number of silent films based on his characters, and the author himself attempted to run his own studio in the mid-1910s with Oz-focused featured films.

The studio also insisted the new film would not be a remake of the Judy Garland musical classic, although it could have been because WarnerMedia owns the rights to that film.

Nicole Kassell, who directed episodes of the edgy television series "Vinyl," "The Leftovers" and "Watchmen," was tapped to helm the new film and sought to make it clear this was not going to be a reboot of the earlier production.

"While the 1939 musical is part of my DNA, I am exhilarated and humbled by the responsibility of re-imagining such a legendary tale," said Kassell in a press release.

"The opportunity to examine the original themes — the quest for courage, love, wisdom and home — feels more timely and urgent than ever. These are profoundly iconic shoes to fill, and I am eager to dance alongside these heroes of my childhood as we pave a newly minted yellow brick road!"

What Could Happen: The track record for Oz-related films produced after the 1939 production is a mixed bag. The notable box-office bombs include "The Wiz" (1979) with Diana Ross as Dorothy; the Disney-produced "Return to Oz" (1985) with Dorothy narrowly escaping electroshock therapy after Auntie Em and Uncle Henry thought she was hallucinating about her adventures; and "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz" (2012), which reimagined the title character as an adult Manhattan writer who realizes her children's fantasy books were based on repressed memories of her time in Oz.

But that's not to say Oz-themed productions cannot be commercial hits. "The Wiz" was a popular, long-running Broadway show prior to the film version, while "Wicked" was a smash hit on Broadway and in touring company productions before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the nation's theaters.

The 2013 "Oz the Great and Powerful" offered a prequel story to Baum source material, with James Franco as the Wizard, and as the witches, Michelle Williams as Glinda, Mila Kunis as Theodora and Rachel Weisz as Evanora. Despite mixed reviews, the film was commercially successful in theatrical and home entertainment release.

And there is also the unique case of the 1971 micro-budget remake from Turkey that gained a cult following among fans of so-bad-they're-good flicks.

Benzinga's Take: The New Line endeavor made no mention of casting or a ready-to-shoot screenplay, let alone a secured release date. One needs to remember that Hollywood has a long history of announced projects that never come to fruition — including the film version of "Wicked."

Still, New Line gets PR points for calling new attention to itself and, of course, to the 1939 masterwork owned by its parent company.

Photo courtesy WarnerMedia.