At the end of the day, movie fans look at films and really only have one question: is it good? Movie studios also only ask a single question of the movies, but it’s not the same one. They ask the question, "Did it make money?" If the answer is no, then that property goes back to the vault. But if the answer is yes, then you should be fully prepared to see the talk of a sequel begun. Such is the case with the Goosebumps movie. Sony is currently in talks with the original film's writer and director to return for the follow-up, because it made some money
According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Rob Letterman and writer Darren Lemke are currently in talks with Sony to return for Goosebumps 2. From the report, it certainly sounds like deals for both are likely to be reached soon. In addition, the producers on the original Goosebumps Deborah Forte and Neal H. Moritz, are already back on board. The only major name not apparently attached at this point was Goosebumps lead Jack Black, though getting him to come back is being called a "goal" and will likely be the studio’s next step. Getting the first movie’s writer and director signed may help entice the actor to return as well.
The idea of a Goosebumps 2 may be a bit surprising for most. It never made that big of a box office splash when it debuted last October. While it opened at number one at the box office, it did so with a far-from-impressive $21 million. As a comparison, The Huntsman: Winter’s War’s abysmal opening this past weekend was just below that. However, the film had some fairly solid staying power, and was a hit with critics, it’s a Certified Fresh movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Goosebumps eventually grossed $80 million at home and racked up $156 million globally on a budget of less than $60 million. It's also been seeing additional success on the home video market, which is common for family films. That’s a financial success no matter how you look at it. It's honestly a little surprising that we're only hearing about a sequel now.
The first film starred Jack Black as R.L. Stine, the actual author of the Goosebumps books, and it created a world in which the creatures of the stories were trapped in the books themselves. As there were dozens of books in the series, there is plenty of potential material to mine for the story in a sequel.
What did you think of the first Goosebumps movie? Are you excited for the idea of a sequel? Let us know in the comments.
