For decades, DreamWorks has been one of the major players in Hollywood animation, alongside the likes of Disney, Pixar, Illumination, and Sony. The studio is home to several notable franchises, including Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon (which recently received a faithful live-action remake), Kung Fu Panda, and more. This decade, DreamWorks had a new IP join those ranks: The Bad Guys. The film put a fun, family friendly spin on classic crime/heist movies, telling the story about talking animals who try to change from their dastardly ways. The Bad Guys was successful enough to warrant a follow-up, which is doing well on streaming after a successful box office run.
For the week of March 16th – 22nd, The Bad Guys 2 was the No. 7 movie on Netflix in the United States, beating out Sisu: Road to Revenge and Jurassic World Rebirth to earn its spot on the chart. This was The Bad Guys 2‘s first week placing in Netflix’s top 10. The film was only added to the streamer’s library on March 21st, so it racked up views in a short period of time.
Will There Be a Bad Guys 3?
Compared to some of DreamWorks’ biggest properties, The Bad Guys has been a relatively modest box office draw. Still, the two films released to date have been successes; the first movie grossed $250.8 million globally against a production budget reportedly between $69-80 million, while The Bad Guys 2 earned $240 million worldwide against an $80 million budget. It’s true that the sequel was a case of diminishing returns, but because expenses were kept in check, neither of the Bad Guys movies have bombed. What’s more is that the franchise has expanded with a prequel TV series and specials that debuted on Netflix.
That’s all to say that there would likely be some interest in making The Bad Guys 3. A few months before The Bad Guys 2 premiered, co-directors Pierre Perifel and JP Sans told Collider that they were already in the early stages of planning a third installment. However, in the time since, Sans and Bad Guys producer Damon Ross left DreamWorks for positions at Sony Pictures Animation, which raises questions about whether or not The Bad Guys 3 will still happen. Notably, DreamWorks has yet to officially announce a third movie, meaning its status is up in the air for the time being.
Sans and Ross were obviously key parts of the Bad Guys 2 creative team, and if Sans was working with Perifel to develop ideas for another sequel, his departure from DreamWorks could be a setback. However, that still wouldn’t stop the studio from hiring new people who can pick up from where Sans and Ross left off. That might mean it could take The Bad Guys 3 a little longer to come to fruition (as a new co-director comes in to bounce concepts off of Perifel), but fans would probably prefer an extended wait for the next installment to learning it’s been cancelled.
Ultimately, The Bad Guys 3 coming to fruition will be DreamWorks’ call. The studio has to feel the project is worth the investment of time and resources, as animated films can take a very long time to make it through production. It’ll be interesting to see what executives decide on this front. While The Bad Guys and its sequels weren’t flops, neither of the movies rank in DreamWorks Animations’ 25 highest-grossing films of all time, meaning the IP could become a lower priority depending on what else the studio has in the pipeline. However, as long as Perifel remains at DreamWorks, there’s a good chance at least one more Bad Guys film gets made, rounding out a trilogy.
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