Happy Death Day 2U

Happy Death Day 2U is a 2019 American science fiction comedy slasher film written and directed by Christopher Landon. It stars Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah Yarkin, Rachel Matthews, Ruby Modine, and Steve Zissis. The film again follows Tree Gelbman (Rothe), who is accidentally transported to another dimension, where she must relive a different version of the same day repeatedly as she tries to return home, while a new killer is on the loose.[2] The film is a sequel to 2017's Happy Death Day, with Jason Blum again serving as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions company.

Happy Death Day 2U
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChristopher Landon
Produced byJason Blum
Written byChristopher Landon
Based onCharacters
by Scott Lobdell
Starring
Music byBear McCreary
CinematographyToby Oliver
Edited byBen Baudhuin
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • February 13, 2019 (2019-02-13) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million[1]
Box office$64.6 million[1]

The film was released in the United States on February 13, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Rothe's performance, as well as the film's shift to a more sci-fi tone, although some noted it as derivative of the first film.[3] It grossed $64 million worldwide against a $9 million budget.

Plot

College student Ryan wakes up in his car on Tuesday, September 19. Returning to his dorm room, he walks in on his roommate Carter and Carter’s girlfriend, Tree. He resumes work on an experimental quantum reactor with fellow students Samar and Dre. After Bronson, the school dean, shuts down the project for triggering several power outages, Ryan is murdered by someone dressed as Babyface and wakes up again on Tuesday the 19th. Tree explains her experience reliving Monday the 18th, and she and Carter agree to help Ryan. They learn the reactor was responsible for creating the loop. The new Babyface tracks Ryan down, but Tree unmasks him to reveal another Ryan. The second Ryan warns that the original must die for the loop to close. Terrified, Ryan activates the reactor, releasing a powerful energy pulse that knocks everyone unconscious.

Tree wakes up in Carter's room on Monday the 18th, and relives her original time loop, but she soon realizes things are different after finding out that Carter is now dating a nicer Danielle. Ryan theorizes that the reactor caused Tree to drift into another dimension. When Tree learns her mother is still alive in this new reality, she decides to stay.

That night, Tree goes to the hospital to intercept serial killer John Tombs before he escapes but is confronted by a police officer. Babyface kills the officer, and Tree runs into Lori at the elevator, realizing she isn't the killer in this reality. Lori tells Tree that Babyface cannot be Tombs because she just took him in for surgery. Babyface stabs Lori, then chases Tree to the roof, where she accidentally falls to her death. She wakes at the beginning of her loop and demands that Ryan and his team help her escape it, requiring they test dozens of algorithms. At Carter's suggestion, Tree serves as the group's recorder, killing herself at the end of each day so they can start again. Eventually, her injuries catch up with her, and she faints. Waking up in the hospital, Tree steals a gun to go after Tombs, only to find Lori already dead. Tombs, disguised as Babyface, attacks, and Tree shoots him dead. However, a second Babyface appears, forcing Tree to kill herself and Babyface.

The group finally discovers the correct algorithm, but a technical issue forces a delay. Faced with a choice of which reality she wants to be in when both time loops close, Tree decides to remain in the current dimension. Carter urges Tree to consider the consequences of living a life that is not truly hers, and states that her experience with grief helped shape the person she is now. Tree hides from Babyface in a hotel. That evening, the news reports that Carter was murdered trying to save Lori at the hospital. Tree kills herself and deactivates the reactor so she can save Carter and Lori. The loop restarts and Tree decides to return to her own reality. She advises Lori to end her affair with her professor Dr. Butler, discovers that Danielle is cheating on Carter and has a final conversation with her mother.

Bronson confiscates the reactor before the group can activate it. Believing she is too weak to survive another loop, Tree insists they retrieve the device. The group enlists Danielle to distract Bronson while they recover the reactor. As Ryan readies the device, Tree goes to the hospital to rescue Lori from Tombs, but is trapped by the second Babyface—revealed to be Dr. Butler trying to bury the evidence of his affair with Lori. Dr. Butler's wife Stephanie appears and shoots Lori, revealing she is in league with her husband, but he betrays and shoots her as well. Tree outsmarts Butler and kills him. Lori survives, and Tree and Carter kiss as the reactor activates, sending Tree back to her original dimension on Tuesday the 19th.

Later, Tree, Carter, Ryan, Samar, and Dre are escorted by agents to a DARPA laboratory, where the reactor has been moved for further experimentation. When the agents say they need a test subject in order to see how the machine works, Tree says she knows the perfect test subject. In her bedroom, Danielle wakes up, screaming in horror.

Cast
  • Jessica Rothe as Tree Gelbman[4]
  • Israel Broussard as Carter Davis[5]
  • Suraj Sharma as Samar Ghosh[6]
  • Steve Zissis as Dean Bronson
  • Phi Vu as Ryan Phan
  • Sarah Yarkin as Dre Morgan[7]
  • Rachel Matthews as Danielle Bouseman[8]
  • Ruby Modine as Lori Spengler[9]
  • Charles Aitken as Gregory Butler
  • Laura Clifton as Stephanie Butler
  • Missy Yager as Julie Gelbman
  • Jason Bayle as David Gelbman
  • Caleb Spillyards as Tim Bauer
  • Blaine Kern III as Nick Sims
  • Jimmy Gonzales as hospital police officer
  • Tenea Intriago as student protester
  • Tran Tran as Emily
  • Cariella Smith as Becky Shepard
  • Rob Mello as John Tombs

Production

Development

Ahead of the first film's release, director Christopher Landon talked about the possibility of a sequel, focusing on why Tree went into the time loop stating "The whole idea for my sequel is actually already in this movie".[10]

Actress Jessica Rothe in an interview in 2018 stated that while most horror sequels retread the original, Landon's pitch instead "elevates the movie from being a horror movie into a Back to the Future type of genre film where the sequel joins us right from where we left off, it explains a lot of things in the first one that didn't get explained, and it elevates everything."[11]

The sequel was officially announced with filming scheduled to begin on May 10, 2018.[12][13]

Casting

Most of the original actors returned, including Rothe, Modine, Broussard, and Matthews. In addition, Suraj Sharma and Sarah Yarkin were cast.[14]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on May 14, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[15] In November 2018, Ben Baudhuin was confirmed to be the film's editor.[16]

Music
Happy Death Day 2U (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Bear McCreary
ReleasedFebruary 15, 2019
Length65:00
LabelBack Lot Music
ProducerBear McCreary
Bear McCreary chronology
Happy Death Day (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2017)		 Happy Death Day 2U (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2019)

On February 15, 2019, Back Lot Music released the original motion picture soundtrack for the film, with music produced by Bear McCreary. The soundtrack did not feature Lizzo's cover of "Stayin' Alive".

All tracks are written by Bear McCreary.

No.TitleLength
1."Two Tuesdays"5:15
2."Stalker at the Gym"2:56
3."The Science Project"2:54
4."Monday the 18th Again"4:18
5."Danielle"2:24
6."A Reason to Stay"1:52
7."Back to the Hospital"3:18
8."Trail of Blood"4:48
9."Can't Save Everyone"2:24
10."Solving Equations"3:39
11."Electrical Substation"2:57
12."Living in the Past"2:03
13."Birthday Candles"6:19
14."The Heist"4:17
15."The Final Confrontation"8:49
16."Darpa"1:48
17."Happy Death Day 2U End Credits"4:49

On January 2, 2019, Back Lot Music released a cover of "Stayin' Alive" performed by Lizzo as a stand-alone promotional single for the movie. The song plays throughout the first set of end credits before the post-credit scene.[17]

Release

Happy Death Day 2U was released on February 13, 2019. It was originally scheduled to be released one day later, on Valentine's Day.[18] However, the film was rescheduled after a request from a relative of a victim of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which happened exactly one year prior.[19]

Home media

The film was released digitally on April 30, 2019,[20] and on Blu-ray and DVD on May 14.[21][22]

Reception

Box office

Happy Death Day 2U grossed $28.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $36.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $64.5 million, against a production budget of $9 million.[1]

In the United States and Canada, Happy Death Day 2U was released alongside Isn't It Romantic, and was projected to gross $17–20 million from 3,207 theaters in its opening weekend.[23] Opening without Tuesday night previews, the film made $992,000 on its first day, Wednesday, and $2.7 million on Valentine's Day, Thursday, for a two-day total of $3.7 million.[24] It went on to debut to $9.8 million over the weekend (a five-day total of $13.5 million), finishing $3.5 million below expectations and fifth at the box office.[25] The film dropped 48% in its second weekend, making $5 million and finishing seventh.[26]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 202 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A funnier follow-up with a sci-fi bent, Happy Death Day 2U isn't as fiendishly fresh as its predecessor, but fans of the original may still find this a sequel worth celebrating."[27] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 2.5 out of 5 stars.[24]

Kimber Myers, writing for the Los Angeles Times, delivered a positive review, saying: "Happy Death Day 2U can't quite replicate the feelings of joy and discovery of the original, but Landon deserves credit for varying the tune, while still playing the hits that will please the fans of its predecessor."[29] Meg Downey, critic for IGN, praised the film, grading it an 8.5/10 and writing, "Happy Death Day 2U deserves a healthy amount of praise for pushing its pedal to the metal all the way through. The level of risk-taking is refreshing, even when it's not completely successful at every single turn."[30]

Novelization

On February 26, 2019, Blumhouse Books released a novelization written by Aaron Hartzler titled Happy Death Day & Happy Death Day 2U, to coincide with the second film's release.[31]

Future

Regarding the possibility of a third film, writer and director Christopher Landon has stated that he "definitely [has an idea for] the third movie in [his] head", while producing studio head Jason Blum has said that if "enough people see this movie, we're gonna make a third movie, we want to make a third movie".[32][33] In March 2019, following the film's less-than-projected box office gross, Blum said a third film was "not very [likely] but not impossible".[34] In July 2019, Landon confirmed that a third film is not in development.[35] In August 2019, Landon stated he had an outline written for the third film and believed he would eventually share it in some medium, be it another movie or not.[36] In 2020, Blum said that while other studios would have cancelled a follow-up to Happy Death 2U following its financial underperformance, a third movie "is still on my radar in some shape or form".[37] He later clarified that he was hard at work to get a deal done to make the movie.[38]

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See also

References
  1. "Happy Death Day 2U (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  2. Squires, John (May 1, 2018). "First 'Happy Death Day 2' Casting Announced; Jessica Rothe Returns as Tree!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. Eisenberg, Eric (February 12, 2019). "Happy Death Day 2U Reviews Are Up, Here's What Critics Are Saying". CinemaBlend. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  4. Squires, John (May 1, 2018). "First 'Happy Death Day 2' Casting Announced; Jessica Rothe Returns as Tree!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. Hemmert, Kylie (May 1, 2018). "Jessica Rothe and Israel Broussard Return for Happy Death Day 2". ComingSoon.net. Evolve Media, LLC. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  6. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 1, 2018). "'Happy Death Day 2': Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard Return; Suraj Sharma & Sarah Yarkin Joining Blumhouse Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. Baxter, Joseph (May 1, 2018). Happy Death Day 2 Reveals Cast and Production Date. Den of Geek. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  8. Rothe, Jessica [@jessica_rothe] (May 21, 2018). "Come be in HAPPY DEATH DAY 2 with me and the rest of the wonderful cast! Plus, we'll go on a ghost tour in New Orleans together!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 19, 2018 – via Twitter.
  9. McNary, Dave (May 2, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Ruby Modine Returns for 'Happy Death Day 2' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  10. Acuna, Kirsten (October 1, 2017). "'Happy Death Day' isn't out yet, but the director already has an idea for a sequel". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  11. Jessica Rothe on 'Forever My Girl' & a 'Back to the Future'-Esque 'Happy Death Day' Sequel Archived June 12, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Collider
  12. "'Happy Death Day' Sequel Reportedly Filming This Summer". March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. "Happy Death Day 2 Sets Cast & Confirms Filming Start Date". ScreenRant. May 1, 2018.
  14. "'Happy Death Day 2': Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard Return; Suraj Sharma & Sarah Yarkin Joining Blumhouse Sequel". Deadline. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  15. Squires, John (March 15, 2018). "Looks Like That 'Happy Death Day' Sequel is Filming This Year!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  16. Murray, Rebecca (November 30, 2018). "'Happy Death Day 2U' Trailer and Poster: "Death Makes a Killer Comeback"". Showbizjunkies. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  17. "Lizzo on Instagram: "Big baby head ass! ((((((New song in @happydeathdaymovie 'Stayin alive' link in bio))))))"". Instagram.
  18. Hipes, Patrick (September 25, 2018). "'Happy Death Day 2U': Universal Sets 2019 Sequel Release Date". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  19. Swift, Tim (January 16, 2019). "Horror movie changes release date after complaint from Parkland parent". local10.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  20. @UniversalHorror (April 30, 2019). "Happy Death Day 2U on Twitter: "If A Tree falls off a building and no one can remember it... did it ever really happen? Time and time again Happy Death Day 2U will keep you entertained. #HDD2U Now on @iTunes"" (Tweet). Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via Twitter.
  21. "Amazon.com: Happy Death Day 2U [Blu-ray]: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, Steve Zissis, Christopher Landon, Jason Blum: Movies & TV". Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  22. "Amazon.com: Happy Death Day 2U: Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, Steve Zissis, Christopher Landon, Jason Blum: Movies & TV". Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  23. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 12, 2019). "'Alita' & 'Happy Death Day 2U' In A Knife Fight At The Presidents Day Weekend B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  24. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 15, 2019). "Alita: Battle Angel Gets The Most Love At Valentine's Day B.O. With $8.7M & 'A-' CinemaScore – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  25. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 17, 2019). "Alita Battles Her Way To $41M+ 5-Day, But Remains Far From Heaven At The B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  26. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 24, 2018). "'How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World' Ablaze With $55M+ Franchise Record Opening & Second Best February Animated Pic Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  27. "Happy Death Day 2U (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  28. "Happy Death Day 2U reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  29. Myers, Kimber (February 12, 2019). "'Happy Death Day 2U" goes back to the future". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  30. Downey, Meg (February 12, 2019). "Happy Death Day 2U review". Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  31. Squires, John (February 4, 2019). "Double Feature of 'Happy Death Day' and 'Happy Death Day 2U' Novelizations Releasing February 19". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  32. "Jason Blum Considering Blumhouse Cinematic Universe". Horror. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  33. "Jason Blum Has Plans to Create a Shared Universe for Blumhouse". ScreenRant. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  34. Schaefer, Sandy. "Jason Blum: Happy Death Day 3 Isn't Likely to Happen". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  35. Landon, Christopher [@creetureshow] (July 17, 2019). "Since I keep reading stuff about it, I'll say it loud: THERE IS NO HAPPY DEATH DAY 3 IN DEVELOPMENT. It's just a rumor...unless @netflix wants to pony-up and finish this trilogy, it just ain't happening" (Tweet). Retrieved October 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  36. Cavanaugh, Patrick (August 15, 2019). "Happy Death Day Director Addresses the Franchise's Possible Future". comicbook.com.
  37. Bibbiani, William (February 26, 2020). "Is the Horror Bubble About to Burst? Jason Blum Talks Blumhouse Projects and the State of the Genre (Interview)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  38. Barfield, Charles (June 9, 2020). "'Happy Death Day 3': Jason Blum Is "Working Overtime" To Get A Deal Done For The Sequel". theplaylist.net. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
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