Smile Franchise Tops $350 Million as Bruckner Takes Over for Finn

Paramount has replaced the original creator of the Smile horror franchise with a new director for the upcoming third installment. The studio hired David Bruckner to helm the project, ending the run of Parker Finn, who wrote and directed the first two films in the series.

The franchise has generated more than $350 million in global box office revenue. The 2022 debut earned $105 million in the United States and $217 million worldwide. The 2024 sequel brought in $69 million domestically and $139 million globally against a $28 million budget.

Bruckner is joining the production with a slate of high-profile horror credits. His recent work includes the 2022 Hellraiser reboot, the 2017 thriller The Ritual, and the 2020 film The Night House. He is currently developing a reboot of The Blob for Warner Bros. and is set to direct Mice for A24. He is also attached to Universal's adaptation of The Caretaker, which stars Sydney Sweeney.

Nick Antosca has been hired to write the screenplay for Smile 3. Antosca created the Apple TV+ miniseries Cape Fear and co-created Hulu's The Act. He also wrote the 2021 film Antlers and the recent adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel Verity.

Parker Finn will remain involved as a producer for the third film. He pitched the framework for the new story to the studio. Temple Hill and Jonathan Fass will also serve as producers. Finn signed a first-look deal with Paramount after the first Smile film moved from streaming to a theatrical release and became a hit.

While Finn steps away from directing the Smile sequels, he is currently working on a remake of the 1981 supernatural thriller Possession. That film stars Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley and is scheduled for release on June 11, 2027.

Plot details for the third Smile movie have not been revealed. The first film featured Sosie Bacon as a therapist haunted by a patient's death. The second followed Naomi Scott, a pop singer experiencing disturbing events on tour. Because each entry in the series functions as a standalone sequel with a new lead, the casting for the third film remains undetermined.