Smile 2

 About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and pressures of fame, she must face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.

Release date: October 18, 2024 (USA)

Director: Parker Finn

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Budget: $28 million

Cinematography: Charlie Sarroff

Music by: Cristobal Tapia de Veer

‘Smile 2’ Leads Box Office With $23 Million Debut, A24’s ‘We Live in Time’ Cracks Top Five

“Smile 2” has carved out a decent $23 million in its opening weekend, easily topping the otherwise sleepy North American box office charts.

The R-rated sequel to Paramount creepy psychological thriller “Smile” debuted on par with expectations and even with the original film, which opened to $22.6 million in 2022. That movie, which was commissioned for streaming before pivoting to a theatrical release, became a sleeper hit with $105 million domestically and $217 million globally. The follow-up film also opened overseas with $23 million for a global start of $46 million.

Parker Finn returned to direct “Smile 2,” which cost $28 million. Naomi Scott stars as a pop singer who begins to experience a series of disturbing events as she embarks on tour. It has been well-received by audiences, earning a “B” grade on CinemaScore and improving from the first film’s “B-” mark.

“Horror series are one of the more difficult genres to sustain over multiple episodes,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “That makes this [opening] particularly good.”