Draft:Smile (franchise)


Smile
Based onOriginal characters
by Parker Finn
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
2020–present
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million
(Cumulative of 2 theatrical films)
Box office$217 million
(Cumulative of 2 theatrical films)

The Smile franchise consists of American supernatural psychological-horror installments, including a short, a theatrical feature film, and its upcoming 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. The presence which Finn named "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, the characters experience visions of a frightening nature.

The original short which debuted in the United States at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival after a previous international festival run, received critical acclaim.[1][2] 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 contractually hired to once again serve as writer/director.[3][4] The theatrical 2022 feature film was similarly met with praise from critics,[5][6][7] and was a major financial success by turning a profit at the box office. [8] Following the movie's similar successes, Finn signed a first-look contractual obligation with Paramount,[9] before being hired for the upcoming sequel.[10]

Films edit

Film U.S.
release date
Director Screenwriter Producer(s) Status
Smile September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30) Parker Finn Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner and Robert Salerno Released
Untitled Smile film October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18) Post-production

Smile (2022) edit

Dr. Rose Cotter spent years of her life, 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 however, 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 commit suicide, 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 Dr. Cotter to bring the patient to the realization that these occurrences are delusions, Dr. Cotter is distraught as this ultimately fails when the patient begins to violently mutilate herself resulting in death.

After witnessing the horrific events of the patient's suicide, Dr. Cotter 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, Dr. Cotter 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, Dr. Cotter races against time as she too begins to have grim experiences of her own.[5][11][6][7][12]

Untitled film (2024) edit

After the financial and critical successes of the first film, in various interviews between November and December of 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.[13] The filmmaker stated that while he intends that additional installments further explore the backstory of the entity, he will keep its mysterious nature intact.[14] 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 Smith. ...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."[13][14][15]

In March 2023, Finn signed a first-look contract with Paramount Pictures with the studio wanting to develop additional horror projects with the filmmaker.[9] 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.[10] By December of the same year, Naomi Scott was announced to be the star of the untitled sequel.[16] In January 2024, Lukas Gage joined the cast as co-star,[17] while Kyle Gallner was confirmed to be reprising his role as Joel from the first movie; Rosemarie DeWitt will appear in the supporting cast.[18]

Principal photography commenced in New York beginning January 2024 and is expected to complete in March of the same year.[19][20] The sequel is scheduled for an October 18, 2024 release date.[21][22]

Short film edit

Title U.S.
release date
Director Screenwriter Producers
Laura Hasn't Slept March 25, 2020 (2020-03-25) 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.[4][3][23]

Main cast and characters edit

Character Short film Films
Laura Hasn't Slept Smile Untitled film
Principal cast
The Monstrosity Lew Temple Marti Matulis
Kevin Keppy
TBA
Dr. Rose Cotter   Sosie Bacon  
Joel   Kyle Gallner
Laura Weaver Caitlin Stasey  
TBA   Naomi Scott
TBA   Lukas Gage
Supporting cast
Trevor   Jessie T. Usher  
Dr. Madeline Northcott   Robin Weigert  
Dr. Morgan Desai   Kal Penn  
Robert Talley   Rob Morgan  
Victoria Muñoz   Judy Reyes  
Mrs. "Mom" Weaver   Dora Kiss  
Holly Weaver   Gillian Zinser  
Greg   Nick Arapoglou  
Carl Renken   Jack Sochet  
Stephanie   Sara Kapner  
TBA   Raúl Castillo
TBA   Rosemarie DeWitt
TBA   Dylan Gelula
TBA   Miles Gutierrez-Riley

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
Untitled film TBA TBA Paramount Pictures,
Temple Hill Entertainment
TBD

Reception edit

Box office & 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 [8][24]
Untitled film TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBA TBD [25][26]

Critical and public response edit

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Laura Hasn't Slept
Smile 79%
(193 reviews)[27]
68/100
(32 reviews)[28]
B-[29]
Untitled film TBD TBD TBD

References edit

  1. ^ Musnicky, Sarah (April 7, 2020). "SXSW Review - Laura Hasn't Slept". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Richter, Marina D. (September 27, 2020). "Review: Laura Hasn't Slept (2020)". UbIQuarian. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b Complex, Valerie (September 30, 2022). "'Smile' Review: Procedural Horror That Makes Trauma The Antagonist". Deadline. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Smile". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ a b Fuge, Jonathan (April 27, 2023). "Smile 2 Officially Announced by Paramount at CinemaCon". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  11. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 28, 2022). "Smile review – grin and bear it in this queasy, nasty horror melodrama". The Guardian. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ^ DiVincenzo, Alex (December 13, 2022). "'Smile' – Six Things We Learned from the Blu-ray's Commentary Track". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b Kaye, Don (December 2, 2022). "Smile Director: Ending 'Purposefully' Leaves Room for Sequel". Den of Geek. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Nichols, Tyler (November 27, 2022). "Smile Interview: Parker Finn (writer/director)". JoBlo. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 13, 2023). "Naomi Scott To Star In Next Installment Of Paramount's 'Smile' Franchise". Deadline. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  17. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 9, 2024). "Lukas Gage Joins 'Smile' Sequel From Paramount". Deadline.
  18. ^ Gonzalez, Umberto (January 10, 2024). "Rosemarie DeWitt and Kyle Gallner Round Out Untitled 'Smile' Sequel Cast - Exclusive". The Wrap.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ Boris, Andrew (January 29, 2024). "'Smile 2' Movie Filming to Shut Down Major Hudson Valley Road". 101.5 WPDH. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 22, 2023). "'Smile 2' Sets Release Date, 'One Love' Moves". Deadline. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (June 9, 2020). "Paramount, Temple Hill Set Feature Version Of Horror Short 'Laura Hasn't Slept'". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  24. ^ "Smile (2022) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  25. ^ "Smile 2". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  26. ^ "Untitled Smile Sequel (2024) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Smile". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Smile". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  29. ^ "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". Cinemascore.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.