Scarlett Johansson's Ghost In The Shell proves to be an expensive failure, earning only $19 million in its North American debut.

Scarlett Johansson’s sci-fi thriller Ghost In the Shell is a box office flop.

The movie, based on a classic 1995 Japanese anime film, took in just $19 million in its opening weekend in North America.

The lackluster debut will be a big disappointment for studio Paramount since the movie directed by Rupert Sanders cost $110 million to make.

Box office flop: Scarlett Johansson’s sci-fi thriller Ghost In the Shell, which cost $110 million to make, took in just $19 million in its opening weekend in North America

To date it has brought in $40 million in overseas markets but if it’s to turn a profit it is going to have to bring in movie-goers in droves in Japan and China next weekend when it opens in those two countries.

Many took issue with the casting of Johansson as the cyborg protagonist who was Japanese in the original, calling it another example of Hollywood ‘whitewashing.’

The critics reviews prior to the opening weekend were also unfavorable.

Anime remake: Many took issue with the casting of Johansson as the cyborg protagonist who was Japanese in the original, calling it another example of Hollywood ‘whitewashing’

We had hopes for better results domestically. I think the conversation regarding casting impacted the reviews,’ said Kyle Davies, domestic distribution chief for Paramount.

‘You’ve got a movie that is very important to the fanboys since it’s based on a Japanese anime movie. So you’re always trying to thread that needle between honoring the source material and make a movie for a mass audience,’ Davies added. ‘That’s challenging, but clearly the reviews didn’t help.’

It’s the latest box office flop in a string of disappointments for Paramount.

Number one: DreamWorks’ animated movie The Boss Baby, featuring the voice of Alec Baldwin in the titular role, opened with $49 million taking the box office crown

Meanwhile, DreamWorks’ animated feature The Boss Baby surprised the industry by knocking Disney’s live action Beauty And The Beast off the top of the box office after a two-week run at number one.

Boss Baby, featuring the voice of Alec Baldwin in the titular role, opened with $49 million.

Beauty and the Beast took in $48 million in its third weekend.