This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
3. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising – likely $60 million
Here’s one of the biggest head-scratchers of the year so far. Neighbors 2 is not the blockbuster that Neighbors was two years ago by a long shot. Even with Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, and Dave Franco returning – this comedy sequel bombed hard.
The original R-rated fraternity-grosser opened to just under $50 million and went on to gross $150 million. In contrast, the sequel recently opened to a sad $21 million and will likely top out at $60 million, earning less than 40% of the original’s gross. What’s even stranger is that the reviews from critics are generally mixed-positive, and audiences are liking the film about the same as the first.
Neighbors 2 continues the silly Hollywood thinking, “a movie that makes money = people liked it.” But to be honest, the original Neighbors was a comedy that looked funnier than it turned out to be, resulting in little interest for a sequel beyond the die-hard fans.
Perhaps the raunchy sequel can find new life on the small screen. For now, this is another would-be franchise that is unequivocally doomed – unless it becomes a straight-to-DVD brand franchise like the American Pie series.
