Smile 2 lands on Netflix today, after turning $28 million into $138 million

Right, if you blinked and missed Smile 2 at the cinema, it’s just landed on Netflix—timed perfectly for anyone who likes their films with a side of existential dread before Halloween. This isn’t your average dreary sequel churned out for a quick buck; it’s proper horror, riding the wave of heavy-hitters like Obsession and The Backrooms that have been making waves in the genre recently.

Naomi Scott in the Deep End

So, what’s the setup this time? The follow-up sticks director and writer Parker Finn right back in the driver’s seat, after his first film got horror fans buzzing in 2022. For the second outing, he’s settled on Naomi Scott as Skye Riley, a pop singer desperate for a comeback and gearing up for a tour. Naturally, as is tradition in this universe, things rapidly go pear-shaped: unsettling, nearly surreal events start spiralling, with Skye’s grip on reality loosening by the minute. Standard fare for the Smile curse, then—if you’re unfamiliar, this is the cheery malady that compels people into nightmarish, grinning suicides. (Fun!)

The buzz around this one wasn’t just internet hype either. On a fairly pants budget of $28 million, Smile 2 clawed back over $138 million worldwide. So, decidedly not a flop, and easily justifying the attention it’s got on streaming now.

Smile 2 smashed the box office, pulling $138.1 million on a $28 million budget.

It wasn’t just the money that impressed—critics seemed to get just as wrapped up in the misery as audiences. Scott’s performance properly anchors the whole thing, and Finn’s writing even managed to swerve the typical “sequel syndrome”, dragging the core idea into fresh territory. He’s not one for reheating yesterday’s horror leftovers; most reviews called out how he kept things feeling new, rather than recycling the first film’s tricks.

How the Franchise Got Here

Bit of trivia for the die-hards: the Smile films technically owe their existence to a short called Laura Hasn’t Slept. Finn knocked it together himself as writer, co-producer, and director. That serves as a sort of prologue to the dystopian world of forced grimaces and psychological trauma, though the main event kicked off with the feature-length Smile in 2022.

Given the box office numbers, it’s no shock that Finn has no intention of putting down his pen yet. News dropped in December 2024 that Smile 3 is officially brewing, with production aiming for some time in 2026.

Who Else Made It Work?

• Naomi Scott (Skye Riley)—the troubled pop star at the heart of the chaos
• Lukas Gage
• Rosemarie DeWitt
• Miles Gutierrez-Riley
• Kyle Gallner