So, you think only blockbuster tentpoles and comic book movies get sequels? Guess again. Hollywood is beginning to realize that old people go to movies too. And accordingly, more movies feature Old People Doing Stuff are getting made. Need some examples? Dustin Hoffman's "Quartet" and "Stand Up Guys" with Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin are getting Academy consideration runs. While The Weinstein Company will drop the elderly, feel good choir movie "Song For Marion" next year. And oh yeah, a little movie called "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" made $134 million worldwide this year. And now Fox Searchlight wants more.
Vulture reports that screenwriter Ol Parker is set to drop a treatment for a followup soon, and moreover, the cast “all wants to come back.” In case you forgot, 'Exotic' featured a roster of acclaimed Olds — Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie — in a story about some British retirees who head to India and have their lives and perspective changed with a mixture of drama, laughs and Dev Patel too.
Domestically, the film earned a decent $46 million, but overseas it slayed, nearly doubling that figure. And all that on a $10 million budget? Those are ledger sheets you can't ignore and it's hardly a shock the folks behind the movie want to repeat that success.
Ordinarily, we'd gripe about this but frankly, it's just nice that Hollywood is recognizing an audience that isn't seventeen year old boys. So, it might not be for us, but hey, if it gives a reason for our parents to enjoy a night out, who are we to argue? So keep your ear to the ground, it's likely sequel news on this one isn't too far away if the studio digs what Parker hands in.