In late December of 2025, Sydney Sweeney scored a much-needed hit in the form of The Housemaid. The dark thriller also stars Amanda Seyfried and made a killing at the box office. On a budget of about $35 million, it grossed just shy of $400 million. That’s a reason for people to rejoice. Of course, when Hollywood rejoices, they do it in the form of making sequels.
Sure enough, a sequel is coming, but the wisdom behind the release date could be disastrous.
The movie industry can be very specific about release dates for films. Some of these make sense, like releasing big franchise tentpoles in the summer when school is out. Or, you might release an award-contender film at the end of the year to keep it fresh in the minds of voters. There’s also the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach. If you release a film at a certain time of the year, you release the sequel at that same time. That’s the approach Lionsgate is taking by releasing The Housemaid’s Secret almost two years to the day as the original.
There’s a problem with that release date, though. The film is on track to hit theaters on December 17th, 2027. The problem with that? It’s releasing the same weekend as Avengers: Secret Wars and The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The argument could be made that this caters to a different audience. After all, the first Housemaid released against Avatar: Fire and Ash and did great. That’s valid, but going up against two big franchise films is a different beast than going up against one.
Let’s also not forget that sequels are not always a given success. There are plenty of follow-ups that flop if they’re not executed properly. The thing in The Housemaid’s Secret‘s favor, though, is that the film has a template to work after. The previous movie was based on a novel by Freida McFadden, and the sequel film will likely be adapting the sequel novel. Director Paul Feig is returning, but will people’s interest in the film be returning, too? Given potential economic unrest, will disposable income be returning as well? If this strategy works out, we’ll be the first to eat our plate of crow.
We’ll see what happens when The Housemaid’s Secret hits theaters on December 17th, 2027.
