Posted in: Horror, Movies | Tagged: christopher landon, film, happy death day, horror, Universal Pictures

Happy Death Day Director Explains the Main Issue the Franchise Faces

Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon is maintaining hope that a third film will happen, whether its a theatrical release or streaming.

Before the trendy PG-13 horror movie M3GAN dominated the box office, the teen-friendly slasher film Happy Death Day earned itself solid love from moviegoers — leading to a sequel with about half of the traction that its predecessor established.

Even so, the 2019 black comedy horror flick Happy Death Day 2U became a hit with its core audience and far exceeded its small budget by tens of millions, leading the cast and crew of the franchise to push for a third installment. While years have passed with little progress in sight, the film's mastermind still maintains hope that his Groundhog Day-influenced vision will be completed and is even open to every platform that might be deemed viable to Universal Pictures.

When discussing his next ideal project with The Hollywood Reporter, franchise director Christopher Landon confirms his interest in keeping it alive, telling the publication, "It would definitely be Happy Death Day 3. I have that movie in my head, and I know exactly what I want. It's actually a bigger movie than the previous two films, and that's part of the issue, ultimately. This third movie needs a bigger budget, but since the second movie didn't perform as well as the first, it's a tall order. But I'm still holding out hope that Universal will give me a chance because it would be a really fun conclusion."

Happy Death Day Fandom and an Ideal Streaming Release

When discussing the box office run for the Happy Death Day sequel and how that might be interpreted as a roadblock despite still being profitable, Landon explains, "I don't even know if they actually look at what they made at the box office. I think they look at it like, 'Well, the first one did this, and the second one did this; therefore, the third one will do even less.' There's just a certain kind of math that they do that makes them go, 'Eh.' And they also spend really big on marketing. So I understand the economics of it, but I also think they're missing the fact that we've gained an audience over the years."

Expanding on its growing fandom and other avenues of release, the director eventually adds, "If we did make a third one, I think we'd have a bigger audience than they expect. Or we could do it for Peacock. I don't know. [Laughs]. It doesn't have to be theatrical. I'd prefer it, but it doesn't have to be."

If we do get a third entry of Happy Death Day down the line, do you think Peacock would be the better platform?

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