2025 Animated Movie Sequel Is Officially a Netflix U.S. Hit After $240M Box Office (but a 3rd Movie Is Uncertain)

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For years, DreamWorks has been a leading animation studio, competing with giants like Disney, Pixar, Illumination, and Sony. They’re known for popular franchises such as Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon (recently reimagined as a live-action film), and Kung Fu Panda. More recently, The Bad Guys joined their lineup of hits. This movie offered a playful, family-friendly take on crime and heist stories, featuring talking animals trying to turn over a new leaf. The Bad Guys performed well in theaters and continues to be popular on streaming, leading to a sequel.

During the week of March 16th to 22nd, The Bad Guys 2 climbed into the top 10 on Netflix in the U.S., landing at number 7. It outperformed films like Sisu: Road to Revenge and Jurassic World Rebirth to get there. This was the first week the movie appeared in Netflix’s top 10, especially impressive since it was only added to the platform on March 21st, meaning it quickly gained a lot of viewers.

Will There Be a Bad Guys 3?

While not as massive as some of DreamWorks’ other franchises, The Bad Guys movies have both been profitable. The first film earned $250.8 million worldwide on a production budget of around $70-80 million, and the sequel brought in $240 million with an $80 million budget. Though the second movie earned slightly less than the first, both films were successful because they didn’t cost too much to make. The Bad Guys universe has also grown with a prequel series and specials available on Netflix.

There’s a good chance a third Bad Guys movie could be made. Before The Bad Guys 2 came out, the directors, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans, mentioned they had already begun planning a third film. However, both Sans and the film’s producer, Damon Ross, have since moved to Sony Pictures Animation, which makes the future of The Bad Guys 3 uncertain. As of now, DreamWorks hasn’t announced any plans for a third movie, so it’s currently on hold.

Sans and Ross were both crucial to making Bad Guys 2, so Sans leaving DreamWorks could slow down development of another sequel, especially if he was collaborating with Perifel on ideas. However, the studio will likely hire new talent to continue the work. While The Bad Guys 3 might take longer to create with a new co-director working with Perifel, fans would almost certainly prefer a delay to the movie being cancelled altogether.

Look, whether or not The Bad Guys 3 actually happens is really up to DreamWorks. They’ve gotta believe it’s worth the years of work animated movies take, you know? It’ll be interesting to see what their bosses decide. The first Bad Guys and its sequel did okay, but they weren’t massive blockbusters – they didn’t even crack DreamWorks’ top 25 highest-grossing films. So, the studio might focus on other projects first. But honestly, as long as Pierre Perifel is still working at DreamWorks, I’m hopeful we’ll get at least one more Bad Guys movie and complete the trilogy. I’d love to see where they take the story!

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2026-03-28 18:10