Knives Out Has Hit A Box Office Milestone Ahead Of Sequel Development

Chris Evans in Knives Out

Knives Out 2 is officially happening. The sequel to Rian Johnson’s star-studded whodunit is a go at Lionsgate and if you needed any further evidence as to why this is a good idea, at least from a financial perspective, look no further than the film’s hugely impressive box office. Knives Out has just passed another box office milestone as development on its sequel begins.

Knives Out, an original film with a modest $40 million budget, has now passed the $300 million mark at the worldwide box office according to The Hollywood Reporter after passing $200 million back in December. After roughly two-and-a-half months in theaters since its debut, Knives Out has made $159.1 million domestically through Monday. Internationally, Rian Johnson’s movie performed ably as well, racking up $140.9 million.

The $300 million worldwide box office performance of Knives Out makes it the second highest-grossing original movie of 2019 at the global box office. The only original film that came in ahead of it was another star-studded affair, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which managed $374.2 million.

Knives Out was also the second highest-grossing original movie of 2019 domestically, where it actually beat out the $142.4 million Tarantino’s ninth film made. The whodunit couldn’t quite match the $175.1 million that Jordan Peele’s Us made domestically though.

It’s entire theatrical run has been impressive for Knives Out. The film opened domestically back on November 27 ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Daniel Craig film was only tracking to open between $25 million and $30 million over the five-day weekend. It exceeded those expectations with a $41.7 million debut.

Since then, Knives Out has had remarkable staying power at the domestic box office with relatively small week-to-week drops. Knives Out stayed in the domestic top 10 from November until the beginning of February. Then this past weekend the film snuck back into the number 10 slot.

As you can see from the $159.1 million/$140.9 domestic/international split, Knives Out’s box office has broken down far more evenly than you’d see in something like a blockbuster. Internationally, Knives Out has performed especially well in China, where it made $28.4 million as well as the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, with $16.8 million, $9.7 million and $9.3 million respectively.

A stellar $300 million in the bank for an original film with a reasonable budget is a whole lot of incentive for a sequel and that’s exactly what we’re getting. Rian Johnson is bringing back Benoit Blanc for an all-new mystery that will feature an all-new cast. The film is even soliciting ideas for the sequel’s title.

A release date for Knives Out 2 has not been set, but we’ll keep you updated. Knives Out is now on digital and arrives on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on February 25. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies you can look forward to this year.

Nick Evans

Nick grew up in Maryland has degrees in Film Studies and Communications. His life goal is to walk the earth, meet people and get into adventures. He’s also still looking for The Adventures of Pete and Pete season 3 on DVD if anyone has a lead.