Holiday 2014 Forecast: 'Horrible Bosses 2'
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Horrible Bosses 2
Release Date: November 26th
Studio: Warner Bros.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sean Anders
Writers: Sean Anders & John Morris
Cast: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz
Studio Description: Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start their own business but things don't go as planned because of a slick investor, prompting the trio to pull off a harebrained and misguided kidnapping scheme.
Analysis: The first Horrible Bosses was one of the bigger hits of Summer 2011: after opening to $28.3 million, it held well and closed with over $117 million total. The entire (surviving) cast of that movie returns for Horrible Bosses 2, which Warner Bros. will release nationwide over Thanksgiving weekend.
Comedy sequels tend to be a mixed bag: for every 22 Jump Street, there's a Grown Ups 2. They seem to be most successful when they're closely-timed to the original: for example, Jump Street was released less than two-and-a-half years after its predecessor. In contrast, Horrible Bosses 2 is arriving nearly three-and-a-half years later, leaving open the possibility that moviegoers have moved on from this group of hapless criminals.
It's also odd that the movie is being released over Thanksgiving weekend. There's no real precedent for releasing R-rated comedies during that frame: the closest comparison would be 2008's Four Christmases, a PG-13 comedy that's also from Warner Bros./New Line.
While it may not be able to match its predecessor, it probably won't fall off too far, either. In the time off since the first movie, most of the stars have been involved with a major hit: Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston teamed up for We're the Millers ($150.4 million), Jason Bateman had Identity Thief ($134.5 million), and Jamie Foxx held together Django Unchained ($162.8 million).
The movie also adds Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix: both actors have been featured in marketing material, which is helping to differentiate the sequel. Add in plenty of solid laugh lines (the often-used "$500 million" gag is a good one), and this could be in line to hold on to most of its predecessor's audience.
Forecast: $100 million
Similar Movies: 22 Jump Street, Neighbors, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, We're the Millers, Grown Ups 2, Identity Thief, The Muppets, Horrible Bosses, The Hangover Part II, Sex and the City 2, Four Christmases
<< Back to Holiday 2014 Forecast
Horrible Bosses 2
Release Date: November 26th
Studio: Warner Bros.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Sean Anders
Writers: Sean Anders & John Morris
Cast: Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz
Studio Description: Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start their own business but things don't go as planned because of a slick investor, prompting the trio to pull off a harebrained and misguided kidnapping scheme.
Analysis: The first Horrible Bosses was one of the bigger hits of Summer 2011: after opening to $28.3 million, it held well and closed with over $117 million total. The entire (surviving) cast of that movie returns for Horrible Bosses 2, which Warner Bros. will release nationwide over Thanksgiving weekend.
Comedy sequels tend to be a mixed bag: for every 22 Jump Street, there's a Grown Ups 2. They seem to be most successful when they're closely-timed to the original: for example, Jump Street was released less than two-and-a-half years after its predecessor. In contrast, Horrible Bosses 2 is arriving nearly three-and-a-half years later, leaving open the possibility that moviegoers have moved on from this group of hapless criminals.
It's also odd that the movie is being released over Thanksgiving weekend. There's no real precedent for releasing R-rated comedies during that frame: the closest comparison would be 2008's Four Christmases, a PG-13 comedy that's also from Warner Bros./New Line.
While it may not be able to match its predecessor, it probably won't fall off too far, either. In the time off since the first movie, most of the stars have been involved with a major hit: Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston teamed up for We're the Millers ($150.4 million), Jason Bateman had Identity Thief ($134.5 million), and Jamie Foxx held together Django Unchained ($162.8 million).
The movie also adds Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix: both actors have been featured in marketing material, which is helping to differentiate the sequel. Add in plenty of solid laugh lines (the often-used "$500 million" gag is a good one), and this could be in line to hold on to most of its predecessor's audience.
Forecast: $100 million
Similar Movies: 22 Jump Street, Neighbors, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, We're the Millers, Grown Ups 2, Identity Thief, The Muppets, Horrible Bosses, The Hangover Part II, Sex and the City 2, Four Christmases
<< Back to Holiday 2014 Forecast
