Studio executives have confirmed that the next book in the Millennium Trilogy will indeed receive a Hollywood sequel, despite the fact that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has, to some extent, underperformed at the box office since it opened before Christmas.
The David Fincher-directed film, starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig, opened two weeks ago and failed to beat out the competition and become the highest grossing film at the box office. Dragon Tattoo has taken in just over $72 million since it’s release, which can be seen as a fairlure considering that most film’s with this kind of buzz open to $100 million (and considering that the film’s budget was a reported $90 million).
While disappointing, the news that the film didn’t make as much money as expected isn’t surprising. First there is the fact that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an R-rated movie that depicts pretty graphic violence, and this is not everyone’s cup of tea. Also factor in that the movie opened in the crucial Christmas weekend when most of the people going to the movies were families looking for something child-friendly. Another possible contributing factor is the loyalty of fans to the book and the original Swedish film series.
Despite all this, a sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has been given the green light. Steven Zaillian, the screenwriter who worked on the first movie, will return to pen the follow-up, The Girl Who Played With Fire. It is not yet known whether David Fincher will return to direct. Mara and Craig are both signed on for all sequels.
