Even though practically every other kind of movie was underperforming at the box office a few years ago, animated films were doing dependably well.Minions: The Rise of Grunearly grossed $1 billion worldwide in 2022, whileSing 2made over $400 million globally in 2021. Among these hits was DreamWorks’The Bad Guys, a heist comedy film directed byPierre Perifel, which made exactly $250 million globally and nearly $100 million at the domestic box office. DreamWorks has now released a follow-up to the movie, which is looking atan identical opening weekend haulafterearning excellent reviews from both critics and audiences.
The Bad Guys 2debuted alongside the comedy rebootThe Naked Gunand the body horror filmTogether. All three films earned positive reviews, withThe Bad Guys 2currently sitting at an 84% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes. The film’s audience score on RT is even higher, at a near-perfect 95%. The critics' consensus for the animated sequel reads, “The Bad Guys 2’s crew of reformed rapscallions are still a ton of fun as their latest adventure raises the stakes while maintaining a playful sense of mischief.“In his review, Collider’sRoss Bonaimewrote, “The Bad Guys 2is certainly bigger and more ambitious than the first film, and makes up for how overextended this film can get at times.”
On the polling platform CinemaScore,The Bad Guys 2earned an excellent A grade. This is identical to the first film’s score, as well as the As earned byPuss in Boots: The Last Wish,Elemental,Encanto,Migration,Despicable Me 4,The Rise of Gru,Trolls Band Together,The Wild Robot, andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Each of these films, minusEncanto, emerged as box office hits.The Last Wish, another DreamWorks title, grossed over $500 million worldwide, as didKung Fu Panda 4, which debuted last year.
The studio has been restricting costs on its recent projects, with bothThe Last WishandKung Fu Panda 4coming in at under $100 million each. EvenThe Bad Guyswas said to have cost between $70 million and $80 million to produce.The Bad Guys 2also comes witha reported budget of $80 million. Featuring the voices ofSam Rockwell,Marc Maron,Awkwafina,Craig Robinson,Anthony Ramos,Zazie Beetz,Danielle Brooks,Natasha Lyonne,Maria Bakalova, and others, the movie is playing in theaters.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The Bad Guys 2
