The original Now You See Me was a surprise hit. The original concept about illusionists who perform a heist grossed over $350 million worldwide from out of nowhere. The fact that a sequel was quickly greenlit was not surprising, but soon it turned out that Lionsgate didn’t simply see the potential for a sequel, but in fact a franchise. Before Now You See Me 2 was done, a third film was also announced. Now, it appears Lionsgate thinks the sequel will be a success, as they’re bringing back the director to helm part three as well.
Variety is reporting that Jon M. Chu, the director of Now You See Me 2 has been signed by Lionsgate to direct Now You See Me 3. It’s a fairly strong vote of confidence in the director's work on part two since it won’t be released for another couple of months. Nobody has an idea how well the sequel will actually do. It’s been about a year since it was first announced that the studio was planning a Now You See Me 3, but there were few details beyond the fact that the film would happen.
To be sure, Now You See Me qualifies as a hit no matter how you run the numbers. $350 million worldwide is no small take, and considering the film’s $75 million budget, that’s a pretty hefty profit margin. This, in the face of fairly middle of the road reviews. Expectations seem pretty high that Now You See Me 2 will do as well or better than the original.
If Lionsgate sees a strong future in Now You See Me then it’s good news for the studio. They haven’t had the best year so far. Both of their major releases for the yearGods of Egypt and The Divergent Series: Allegiant, have underperformed at the box office, with the later film seeing the budget cut for its final installment as a result. Lionsgate needs a hit. Whether they’re confident that the heist sequel is the film they’re waiting for, or just overly hopeful, remains to be seen. The film’s first outing did not go as planned, as a screening at CinemaCon was shut down due to security concerns.
How excited are you to for Now You See Me 2? Are you so excited that you also can’t wait for Now You See Me 3? We’ll get our first look at the potential for part three when part two is actually released on June 10.
