While 2024 has been filled with horror hits, with many more to come, “Smile 2” is poised to be one of the biggest successes. The highly anticipated sequel to Parker Finn’s masterpiece has barely hit cinemas, yet it has already grossed $46 million in its opening weekend, having been made on a budget of $28 million!
This second installment follows Grammy-winning pop star Skye Riley, who becomes a victim of the Smile Entity’s curse and is determined to rid herself of it, even if it means putting her own life in danger.
As such a hit in theaters both domestically and worldwide, viewers are craving more and already wondering if there are plans for a third installment on the horizon. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Finn shared his thoughts on the future of the franchise. Warning: There are spoilers ahead!
What’s next for the ‘Smile’ film series?
If you have seen the final minutes of “Smile 2,” it’s probable you have been left a bit confused about whether there will be a third part of the story of the smiling curse. At the end, Skye is on stage at her tour’s opening night at Madison Square Garden and sees the true form of the entity that has become her greatest nightmare. As it crawls into her body, she smiles eerily at the audience before ending her life gruesomely in front of all the spectators.
So, what does this mean? Will the curse now aim for world domination after infecting so many? Could there be a continuation based on a single character once again? While it’s hard to see either of these ideas come to fruition, director Parker Finn feels quite optimistic about writing more ideas to extend his tale.
“We’ll have to see how audiences react to Smile 2. The Smile films are so character-driven; it’s the reason I wanted to tell these intimate, human melodramas. I’d want to make sure that would be infused in any future Smile stories as well. There are a lot of interesting directions on where it could go. I’m staying mum on what could or could not happen, but I think it’d be really exciting.”
So, while Finn doesn’t yet have a clear idea of how the “Smile” franchise should continue, he definitely has the desire for it to keep going. If that were to happen, we can expect “Smile 3” to hit theaters in 2026, following the time gap between the first and second installments.
Plus, it’s quite strange to see new stories like “Smile” have such success, and it’s not far-fetched to think that Paramount Pictures won’t want to let go of what could potentially be a very long film series and a new horror classic. So, there are many future possibilities for the story that began with therapist Rose Cotter, but we will have to wait for a confirmation! Stay tuned.
