Parker Finn’s “Smile 2” is having a slow start at the box-office, having only earned $2.5M in Thursday showings. It’s not looking like it’ll match the original’s numbers. I can also confirm that the film cost a little under $30M to produce.
Having seen the film, and taking into account the positive reviews (85% on Rotten Tomatoes), the marketing for this one has been baffling. “Smile 2” only had its review embargo lift on Wednesday, just a day before Thursday previews. What gives? I am just baffled by Paramount. Why did they keep such a tight lid on this one?
“Smile” (2022) had a budget of $17M and somehow managed to gross $217M worldwide. There was no reason for the sequel to underperform like this, especially since, in my opinion, it’s actually an improvement on the original. Paramount just didn’t get the word out soon enough and have completely botched this rollout.