The Smile franchise consists of American psychological supernatural horror installments, including a short, a theatrical feature film, and its feature-length sequel. Based on characters and an original story by Parker Finn, the filmmaker explores elements of paranoia, psychological trauma, and fear in elements of storytelling. The plot of the franchise follows a number of characters who are tormented by a wicked entity that follows them, unceasingly determined to be the cause of their death. This force, termed by Finn as "the Monstrosity", presents itself with the identifying characteristic of a malevolent smile while it takes the form of the people that the characters encounter. While the characters frantically try to save themselves from the leering presence of death, they experience visions of a frightening nature.
| Smile | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Directed by | Parker Finn |
| Written by | Parker Finn |
| Based on | Original characters by Parker Finn |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 2020–present |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45 million (2 theatrical films)[1] |
| Box office | $327.2 million (2 theatrical films) |
The original short which debuted in the United States at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival after a previous international festival run, received critical acclaim.[2][3] Following its warm reception, Paramount Pictures secured rights to a feature film adaptation, which was later revealed to be a continuation of the short. Finn was hired to again serve as writer and director.[4][5] The theatrical 2022 feature film was similarly met with praise from critics,[6][7][8] and was a box office success.[9] Finn signed a first-look contractual deal with Paramount,[10] before being hired for the 2024 sequel.[11]
Films
edit| Film | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriter | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smile | September 30, 2022 | Parker Finn | Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner and Robert Salerno | Released | |
| Smile 2 | October 18, 2024 | Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, Robert Salerno and Parker Finn | |||
Smile (2022)
editDr. Rose Cotter has spent twenty years overcoming the abusive challenges of her childhood. Now in her profession as a psychiatrist, she successfully assists her patients with a compassionate role in their lives. Upon meeting her newest patient named Laura Weaver, she is faced with a challenging case. As the terrified patient describes the distressing experiences she has endured including an extended lack of sleep convinced that she will be overcome if she rests. Laura explains that she has been followed by an evil entity ever since she witnessed her college professor bludgeon himself to death, and after stating that the entity reveals itself in the form of an unnatural smile on the faces of the people around her, panics as she tells the therapist that the specter is in the room with them. Despite the compassionate attempts of Rose to bring the patient to the realization that these occurrences are delusions, Rose is distraught as this ultimately fails when the patient slits her own throat.
After witnessing the horrific events of the patient's suicide, Rose once again struggles with the mental health struggles from her youth. She soon begins to question her diagnosis of the deceased patient however, when she disturbingly realizes that various people around her seem to mindlessly grin. Conducting research of her own, Rose is surprised to discover that a series of terrible suicidal deaths have occurred after describing similar stories as Laura had. Determined to find the source of the deathly grin, Rose races against time as she too begins to have grim experiences of her own.[6][12][7][8][13]
Smile 2 (2024)
editAfter the financial and critical successes of the first film, in various interviews between November and December 2023, writer/director Parker Finn stated that he had intentionally left portions of the first movie ambiguous with unresolved plotlines with the hope that he could explore these details in a future sequel.
Following the release of Smile, from November through December 2022 during interviews writer/director Parker Finn stated that he had intentionally left portions of the first movie ambiguous, with various plotlines unresolved while expressing interest in exploring those details in a potential sequel film.[14] The filmmaker stated that while he intends that additional installments further explore the backstory of the entity, he will keep its mysterious nature intact.[15] The filmmaker further stated that a follow-up movie would be notably different from the first, saying: "there is still a lot of interesting stuff to explore in the world of Smile. ...I'd want to make sure that there's a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn't anticipating. I also want to find some new ways to scare them and unnerve them."[14][15][16]
In March 2023, Finn signed a first-look contract with Paramount Pictures with the studio wanting to develop additional horror projects with the filmmaker.[10] The following month at CinemaCon 2023, Paramount officially announced that a sequel has been green-lit and is in pre-production, with Parker Finn once again serving as writer/director.[11] By December of the same year, Naomi Scott was announced to be the star the movie.[17] In January 2024, Lukas Gage joined the cast as co-star,[18] while Kyle Gallner was confirmed to be reprising his role as Joel from the first movie; Rosemarie DeWitt will appear in the supporting cast.[19]
Principal photography commenced in New York beginning January 2024 and is expected to complete in March of the same year.[20][21] In June 2024, the first trailer debuted, following the studio's initial marketing for a fictional pop star character from the movie, with the official title confirmed to be Smile 2.[22][23] The film was released on October 18, 2024.[24][25]
Future
editIn September 2024, writer/director Parker Finn confirmed plans to continue the franchise with a third film; stating: "...we've maybe only scooped a single glass of water out of the ocean. ...I think it's really fun to imagine a lineage of Smile movies where each one becomes more off the rails than the previous one."[26]
Short film
edit| Title | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriter | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Hasn't Slept | March 25, 2020 | Parker Finn | Jessica Bonander, Tristan Borys, Sean Dacanay, Jonathan Fass and Parker Finn | |
Laura Weaver visits her therapist, and is surprised to find that her usual doctor is out of town. Despite some reservations, she opts to describe a series of recurring horrific dreams she has been experiencing at night that are seeming to also happen during her waking hours, to the therapist who is covering at the practice. Elaborating that the consistent aspect of these occurrences is a man who seems to be following her and creepily grins each time she sees him. As the doctor attempts to reason with her that the dreams are a result of her heightened levels of stress and her active imagination, in a horrified realization Laura recognizes that the doctor is in fact the entity that has been reappearing throughout her dreams, as he smiles menacingly back at her.[5][4][27]
Other media
editVideo games
editThe Monstrosity appears as an antagonist in The Haunting event in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.[28]
Main cast
edit| Character | Short film | Films | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Hasn't Slept | Smile | Smile 2 | |
| 2020 | 2022 | 2024 | |
| Principal cast | |||
| The Monstrosity Dr. Parsons Nightmare Mom "Skye" |
Lew Temple | Marti Matulis Kevin Keppy |
Trevor Newlin Naomi Scott |
| Laura Weaver | Caitlin Stasey | ||
| Joel | Kyle Gallner | ||
| Dr. Rose Cotter | Sosie Bacon Meghan Brown PrattY |
Sosie BaconA | |
| Trevor | Jessie T. Usher | ||
| Dr. Morgan Desai | Kal Penn | ||
| Robert Talley | Rob Morgan | ||
| Skye Riley | Naomi Scott | ||
| Elizabeth Riley | Rosemarie DeWitt | ||
| Joshua | Miles Gutierrez-Riley | ||
| Morris | Peter Jacobson | ||
| Supporting cast | |||
| Dr. Madeline Northcott | Robin Weigert | ||
| Victoria Muñoz | Judy Reyes | ||
| Mrs. Cotter | Dora Kiss | ||
| Holly Cotter | Gillian Zinser | ||
| Greg | Nick Arapoglou | ||
| Carl Renken | Jack Sochet | ||
| Stephanie | Sara Kapner | ||
| Darius Bravo | Raúl Castillo | ||
| Gemma | Dylan Gelula | ||
| Paul Hudson | Ray Nicholson | ||
| Lewis Fregoli | Lukas Gage | ||
| Drew Barrymore | Drew BarrymoreC | ||
Additional crew and production details
edit| Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies |
Distributing companies |
Running time | ||
| Laura Hasn't Slept | Rob Himebaugh | Dan Clarke | Tristan Borys | Park Finn Films, Post Mango |
SXSW Film Festival | 11 mins | |
| Smile | Cristobal Tapia de Veer | Charlie Sarroff | Elliot Greenberg | Paramount Players, Temple Hill Entertainment |
Paramount Pictures | 1 hr 55 mins | |
| Smile 2 | Temple Hill Entertainment, Bad Feeling |
2 hrs 7 min | |||||
Reception
editBox office and financial performance
edit| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Worldwide total net income |
Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide | ||||
| Smile | $105,935,048 | $111,473,465 | $217,420,882 | #728 | #821 | $17,000,000 | $200,420,882 | [9][29] |
| Smile 2 | $53,389,413 | $57,100,000 | $109,747,434 | $28,000,000 | $82,489413 | [30][31] | ||
Critical and public response
edit| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smile | 80% (197 reviews)[32] | 68/100 (32 reviews)[33] | B-[34] |
| Smile 2 | 86% (153 reviews)[35] | 66/100 (36 reviews)[36] | B[37] |
References
edit- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 16, 2024). "'Smile 2' Heading For High Teens At Weekend Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ Musnicky, Sarah (April 7, 2020). "SXSW Review - Laura Hasn't Slept". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
- ^ Richter, Marina D. (September 27, 2020). "Review: Laura Hasn't Slept (2020)". UbIQuarian. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
- ^ a b Moore, Trent (November 30, 2022). "'Laura Hasn't Slept': Watch the Creepy, 'Elm Street'-esque Short Film that Inspired 'Smile'". SyFy. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Squires, John (November 30, 2022). "'Laura Hasn't Slept' – Watch the Original Short Film That Became This Year's 'Smile' [Video]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Navarro, Meagan (September 23, 2022). "'Smile' Review – A Scary Grin Exposes a Familiar But Effective Horror Movie". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Gleiberman, Owen (September 27, 2022). "'Smile' Review: The Demons Grin Back at You in a Horror Movie With a Highly Effective Creep Factor". Variety. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Complex, Valerie (September 30, 2022). "'Smile' Review: Procedural Horror That Makes Trauma The Antagonist". Deadline. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Smile". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Kit, Borys (March 15, 2023). "'Smile' Filmmaker Parker Finn Signs First-Look Deal With Paramount (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Fuge, Jonathan (April 27, 2023). "Smile 2 Officially Announced by Paramount at CinemaCon". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 28, 2022). "Smile review – grin and bear it in this queasy, nasty horror melodrama". The Guardian. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ DiVincenzo, Alex (December 13, 2022). "'Smile' – Six Things We Learned from the Blu-ray's Commentary Track". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Davids, Brian (December 9, 2022). "How Parker Finn's 'Smile' Went From Streaming to Theatrical in a Single Night". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Kaye, Don (December 2, 2022). "Smile Director: Ending 'Purposefully' Leaves Room for Sequel". Den of Geek. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Nichols, Tyler (November 27, 2022). "Smile Interview: Parker Finn (writer/director)". JoBlo. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (December 13, 2023). "Naomi Scott To Star In Next Installment Of Paramount's 'Smile' Franchise". Deadline. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (January 9, 2024). "Lukas Gage Joins 'Smile' Sequel From Paramount". Deadline.
- ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (January 10, 2024). "Rosemarie DeWitt and Kyle Gallner Round Out Untitled 'Smile' Sequel Cast - Exclusive". The Wrap.
- ^ Boris, Andrew (January 24, 2024). "Hollywood Film Crew Takes Over Newburgh Brewing Company Taproom". 101.5 WPDH. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Boris, Andrew (January 29, 2024). "'Smile 2' Movie Filming to Shut Down Major Hudson Valley Road". 101.5 WPDH. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Dunn, Jack (June 18, 2024). "'Smile 2' Trailer: An Evil Curse Haunts a Pop Star in Paramount's Horror Sequel". Variety. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (June 18, 2024). "'Smile 2' Trailer: Naomi Scott's Pop Star Terrorized by Smiling Faces in Parker Finn's Paramount Sequel". Deadline. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 22, 2023). "'Smile 2' Sets Release Date, 'One Love' Moves". Deadline. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
- ^ Patel, Rohan (April 27, 2023). "CinemaCon '23: Paramount Presentation LIVE Blog - MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, TRANSFORMERS, TMNT, & More". Comic Book Movie. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3; GLADIATOR 2 starring Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, directed by Ridley Scott; SMILE 2; DEAR SANTA starring Jack Black - These are all on their upcoming slate for 2024.
- ^ Milici, Lauren; O'Brien, Steve (September 28, 2024). "Smile 2 director says the sequel uses ideas that didn't make it into the first film – and he already has a plan for a third movie too". GamesRadar / SFX Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (June 9, 2020). "Paramount, Temple Hill Set Feature Version Of Horror Short 'Laura Hasn't Slept'". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Mike (2024-09-10). ""The Haunting" Event for 'Modern Warfare III' Brings Art the Clown, Michael Myers and More on September 18 [Trailer]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
- ^ "Smile (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ^ "Smile 2". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Smile 2 (2024) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Smile". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Smile". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 2, 2022). "'Smile' Sees $2M In Previews, 'Don't Worry Darling' Ends First Week With $25.5M+ – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ^ "Smile". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Smile". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 20, 2024). "Smile 2 Happier With $23M Opening; A24's We Live In Time Making Dime With $4M+, Anora Wows With Massive $90K Theater Average – Sunday Box Officee". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 24, 2024.