While “Frozen 2” once again dominated the box office this weekend, as its total rolled over to $750 million worldwide in just two weeks, it was actually the fantastic performance of “Knives Out” that really stood out.
Rian Johnson’s critically acclaimed whodunnit has made over $70 million early in its run, meaning that it has already almost doubled its alleged budget of $40 million. The film’s blatant popularity means that there’s every chance “Knives Out” could end up making over $200 million at the box office now. In fact, it made just $1.5 million less domestically than 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” which went on to gross $352.8 million worldwide, despite only having middling reviews.
Either way, Lionsgate is almost certainly going to want a follow-up. But will there be a “Knives Out” sequel?
That question can only be answered by one man: the film’s writer and director, Rian Johnson. We already know the answer, too, and after excelling at the box office it now really looks as though we will eventually get a “Knives Out” sequel.
That’s because the filmmaker has long insisted that he would want to make more films centered around Daniel Craig’s private detective Benoit Blanc, as long as “Knives Out” did well at the box office.
Back in September, Johnson told Uproxx, “I’ll tell you, the truth is I had such a great time working with Daniel Craig and I had so much fun doing this on every level, from writing it to making it. I’ve never really been interested in doing sequels, but this, the idea of doing more of these with Daniel as his character, is not sequels. It’s just what Agatha Christie did. It’s just coming up with a whole new mystery, a whole new location, all new cast, whole new mechanics of the appeal of a mystery and everything. It’d be a blast.”
In a November interview with Collider, Johnson revealed that he has clearly been hard at work on his potential “Knives Out” sequel. After being asked if he already had anything in mind for “Knives Out 2,” Johnson teased, “I got a little something, I might have a title in mind. But I’m not going to let myself say anything.”
Johnson also told Collider, “The idea of getting together every few years and making a new Benoit Blanc mystery seems like heaven.” In fact, Johnson has been opening up about the chances of a “Knives Out” sequel to everyone.
According to The List, at a recent press event, the 45-year-old filmmaker once again said that any follow-up would have a “new location, new cast” and “new mystery,” while Johnson also told Bang Showbiz that “Knives Out” could “be a trilogy and beyond,” before noting, “Agatha Christie didn’t stop at a trilogy so let’s keep making mysteries man.”
“Knives Out” is now in cinemas, and it has already made enough money to suggest that a sequel is inevitable.
