After a strong weekend opening for “A Quiet Place 2,” Paramount has dated a third entry in the horror franchise for March 31, 2023.
“Mud” director Jeff Nichols will take over from John Krasinki as helmer, with a story based on an idea by Krasinski. Nichols handed in the script for the new installment, which is more of a spinoff than a threequel, just days ago, Krasinski told Rotten Tomatoes’ Erik Davis.
Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller and Krasinski are producing, with Allyson Seeger executive producing.
Nichols won the Cannes Critics Week prize for his 2011 sci-fi movie “Take Shelter,” which premiered at Sundance. His 2016 sci-fi thriller “Midnight Special” was the story of a father on the run with his son, who has special powers and is being pursued by the government and a secretive cult.
Starring Krasinski, Emily Blunt and Millicent Simonds, “A Quiet Place 2” grossed a healthy $58 million over the Memorial Day weekend in the first real test of post-pandemic moviegoing. Ticket sales for the second weekend are expected to be in the upwards of $20 million.
“A Quiet Place 2” finds the Abbot family, who were terrorized at home in the original film, venturing into the post-apocalyptic outside world where they realize that creatures that hunt by sound are just one of the threats awaiting them.
Along with “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “A Quiet Place 2” should be able to cross $100 million at the domestic box office, which no films have been able to achieve during the pandemic-enforced theater shutdowns.
The first “Quiet Place” movie, which was budgeted at just $17 million, became a sensation when it opened to the highest weekend gross ever for a horror movie and went on to make $340 million worldwide.