Why A Sequel To It Follows Feels Like A Box Office Home Run
For anyone who has paid even a little bit of attention to box office happenings over the past couple of years, it's been crystal clear that horror is having quite the moment. Everything from "M3GAN" to "Saw X" is cleaning up and, more recently, "Five Nights at Freddy's" had one of the biggest openings ever for a horror film. Naturally, everyone is trying to get in on the genre gold rush that's currently happening. As a result, we're finally getting a sequel to director David Robert Mitchell's much-beloved modern classic, "It Follows."
It was recently reported that NEON, the studio behind "Parasite" and "I, Tonya," has partnered with Mitchell for the sequel, which is titled "They Follow." It is expected to begin filming next year, with Maika Monroe returning to reprise her role from the first film. It's a proper sequel with one heck of a title. It's sort of the "Alien" to "Aliens" thing where the title immediately lets the audience know what's up. Plot details currently remain under wraps but excitement online was palpable, with social media awash with exuberant reactions from horror fans. This is a good indicator that the sequel will be about as close to a slam dunk as anyone is afforded in the movie business, presuming Mitchell once again makes a good movie. Or, at the very least, one that gets people talking like last year's "Halloween Ends."
After debuting to rave reviews on the festival circuit in 2014, "It Follows" was released theatrically by The Weinstein Company's now-defunct genre label RADiUS-TWC. Things started slow, but word of the film spread like wildfire, generating buzz that eventually led the movie to a $23 million haul at the global box office. Against a budget of less than $2 million and coupled with rave reviews, it was a smash success.
Low risk, high potential reward
Is $23 million a lot of money for a movie? In the grand scheme of things, not necessarily. But as I often like to point out when it comes to the box office (or the movie business in general), it's all relative. A movie that costs less than $2 million to make earning more than 10 times that amount in ticket sales is incredible. When that movie garners near-universal praise and becomes a word-of-mouth success story and, perhaps more importantly, an enduring title within the canon of the genre? It's the sort of hit any studio — big or small — would love to have.
If we assume that NEON can keep the budget low, it's difficult to imagine much risk involved here. This movie's reputation has only grown in the years since its original release and, thanks to its reputation, so has its audience. Yes, the initial box office returns were nice, but the amount of people who have watched it via VOD, streaming, Blu-ray, and cable in the years since is immeasurable. It's a movie that has endured in the public consciousness well beyond the box office. That's the key thing here.
Some context is also worth taking into account. As mentioned, horror is on fire right now, and if "They Follow" can catch the back end of that wave, it could be huge. The other thing to consider is David Robert Mitchell's career. His follow-up, 2018's "Under the Silver Lake," was distributed by arthouse experts A24 and was something of a commercial disaster, making less than $3 million worldwide (and just $46,000 domestically) against an $8 million budget. Mitchell has not directed a movie since. Yes, "Under the Silver Lake" has a cult following but it certainly didn't help his career any. Making a sequel to his beloved breakout film seems like the safe way to get back in everyone's good graces.
The nostalgia factor
NEON, admittedly, has not had too many breakout theatrical hits, save for "Parasite" ($253 million worldwide), which went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Understandably, the studio is probably interested in making some more surefire bets in the future to shore up its finances. Relatively cheap horror movies are a good way to do that, and "It Follows" is the perfect film to turn into a franchise for this studio, as it's very much in line with the identity that they've built up. It doesn't feel like a needles cash grab.
The other interesting angle here is timing. If NEON and David Robert Mitchell can time this just right, they can get the sequel in theaters near the 10th anniversary of the original. That would make for a nice thing to anchor the marketing to, sure, but it's also worth looking at from an audience perspective. That's just enough time for nostalgia to catch up, and people who saw the movie years ago will have that "Oh yeah!" feeling that can be so effective for raking in the dough. This movie has all of the makings of a hit. Not only that, but it also feels like a sequel that could easily outdo its predecessor. Think "John Wick" ($87 million) to "John Wick: Chapter 2" ($171 million).
This all relies on the budget staying under control and a presumed level of quality with the filmmaking, but if those two things are in place, this smells like an absolute home run in the making. Here's hoping that's the way it plays out.
"They Follow" does not currently have a release date set.