A recent sleeper hit comedy that achieved both critical and commercial success and is all but begging for a sequel just started streaming on HBO Max. The streaming giant has a pretty deep catalog guaranteed to make subscribers laugh, including movies like Evan Almighty, The Devil Wears Prada, and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. That lineup just got a great new addition with the arrival of one of the best comedies of the last 10 years, and fans are still mad it hasn’t gotten a sequel.
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On April 4th, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s action comedy Game Night joined HBO Max. The movie centers around a group of friends whose regular game night turns into a real-life mystery when a staged kidnapping turns out to be genuine, forcing the group into a dangerous, action-packed night that blurs the lines between game and reality. Game Night, starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, was released in 2018 to pretty great success, including a $117 million worldwide gross and a “Certified Fresh” 85% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has never gotten the sequel treatment despite fans clamoring for more.
Game Night Is a Sleeper Hit Comedy That Deserved a Sequel
In an era defined by the struggle of comedy films in theaters, Game Night marked a surprising and deserved success that we definitely want to see more of. The movie broke the mold of 21st-century studio comedies by moving away from a reliance on raunchy, improvised humor and dialogue in favor of a carefully constructed, tightly scripted plot. In Game Night, the humor is driven by the chemistry and wit of its ensemble cast and the many plot twists, and every line, joke, and throwaway detail has payoff later in the film. The movie blends all of those comedic gold moments with legitimate thriller suspense, including car chases and shootouts that make it just as much of a fast-paced thrill ride as it is a laugh-out-loud experience.
Game Night is really a comedy that is better than it has any right to be, and it’s the type of film that holds up even nearly a decade later. But despite being a movie that is practically begging for a sequel – more than just its commercial and critical success, it ended with a potential plot setup for more adventures – a Game Night 2 has never happened, and it’s not likely to. Although fans have long begged for a second movie, Goldstein said in 2023, “our favorite thing is to leave the audience wanting more, as opposed to hitting them over the head.” He called the film’s ending “a sort of fake setup for a sequel” and said they “feel like it might be hard to top what we did” in Game Night.
What’s New on HBO Max?
April is a great month at HBO Max, packed with plenty of great arrivals subscribers won’t want to miss. While we’re only a few days into the new month, the streamer has already stocked movies like Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Practical Magic, and Twister, as well as titles from Alien, The Mummy, and Mortal Kombat franchises.
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Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. -
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.
