I’m not sure what alchemy goes on at studios in deciding when is a good time to make a sequel, but their formula doesn’t always work. After "Snow White And The Huntsman" made nearly $400 million worldwide, Universal figured they could use that as the foundation for a prequel/sequel only to see "The Huntsman: Winter’s War" flop pretty hard last weekend. And that brings us to "Goosebumps" which earned a respectable $156 million worldwide off a $58 million budget, hardly the figures you might think compel a sequel, but the suits at Sony think otherwise.
The studio is gearing up "Goosebumps 2," enlisting Rob Letterman and Darren Lemke to return to direct and write, respectively. Apparently, "Goosebumps" has done well on home video which is also prompting the followup film, not to mention the R.L. Stine brand does seem to have some staying power. Not confirmed to return just yet is Jack Black, though Sony plans on wooing him back.
Do we really need another "Goosebumps" movie? Probably not. But Sony thinks all the ingredients are there to make it worthwhile. [THR]