'A Simple Favor 2' - When a Box Office Win is Still a Loss for Theaters

The Paul Feig-directed comic thriller was a modest box office hit, but the sequel, again starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, will only benefit streamers

For those unlucky enough to have heard one of my stump speeches about why the industry is the way it is, you’ve probably heard me ramble about audiences being dirty, stinking liars in terms of what they say they want in theaters (original, adult-skewing, non-franchise, star-driven and/or inclusive *movies*) versus where they spend their theatrical time and money (uh… not those).

The core example I like to throw out is that, using the Fall of 2018 as a prime example, audiences and the online discourse industrial complex claim to want films like Overlord, A Simple Favor, Widows and Bad Time at the El Royale, but they spent most of their money on The Grinch, Venom, Halloween, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. 

I’d often get some pushback on including Paul Feig’s delightful pulpy comic thriller since it did earn $97 million globally on a $20 million budget. However, it’s not the kind of success that sends Hollywood searching for “the next Simple Favor.” Moreover, as we discovered last week, we’re getting a sequel (again starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively), but it’s (for now) skipping theatrical for a Prime Video launch.

It may just be another case of a theatrical success story merely becoming a content widget for streaming.