After “Bad Moms” became one of the surprise hits of the summer, STX will bring “Bad Dads” to theaters next year.
The film is set for July 14, 2017. Casting and plot details are forthcoming.
“Bad Moms,” starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernandez, Jada Pinkett Smith and Christina Applegate, romped its way to $170.8 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. That was enough for STX — which hasn’t financed a slate of films that are obvious standard sequel treatment choices in its two-year history — to grow the “Bad Moms” family.
“Where other studios have automatically green lit traditional and significantly more expensive sequels, STX has determined those sequels on average are grossing 68 percent less than the originals,” STX said in a statement announcing “Bad Dads.” “Instead, STX has chosen to focus on extending consumer passion for the ‘Bad Moms’ brand with a series of film spin-offs, a reality television show, short form digital content, and a robust consumer products program.”
STX is one of several Hollywood studios with increasingly deep ties to China. Robert Simonds formed the independent distributor in 2014 with founding investments from private equity firms TPG and China’s Hony Capital. In 2015, STX inked a co-financing deal with China’s Huayi Brothers that the studio said would allow it to produce 12 to 15 films a year. Last month, STX announced a strategic investment from Chinese tech and media giant Tencent to fund an expansion into music, digital content and virtual reality.