Sony Will Make Both ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Sequels

Sony's American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo hasn't quite met box-office expectations, but it appears we'll still get adaptations of the other two installments in Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy."

Sources at Sony have told Deadline that the studio plans to move ahead with film versions of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. "Dragon Tattoo" screenwriter Steve Zaillian is currently at work on both sequel adaptations, the first of which will likely begin filming late 2012/early 2013. There's no word as to whether they will film back to back or if director David Fincher will take the helm again.

"Dragon Tattoo" just cracked $75 million at the U.S box office, underwhelming front-end number for something based on such a popular book. Overseas numbers have been even more lackluster so far, with just about $30 million total, and that includes poor results in the U.K. as well as Scandanavia, where the book originated. That supports theories that those audiences had no interest in an English-language version just two years after the first Swedish film.


At the same time, for a dark and graphic R-rated thriller those numbers are rather impressive, and it has held up better than any other Holiday movie the last few weeks. Sony projects a $300-million worldwide gross by the end of the film's run, which compares to a $90-million budget.

I think the move forward on "Fire" and "Hornet's Nest" is less risky than it sounds. Many people have taken an interest in the novels since the film's release, which will help the front-end numbers the next time around. With a release date in the early summer or the fall the next time instead of the one time of year when people want feel-good fare, the series should end up decently profitable for Sony.