Sin City Sequels

Just as the saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” the same applies to Hollywood.

What happens in Hollywood should not end up in Las Vegas, or at least if it does, it should be for good reason.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, premiering in theaters this Friday, Apr. 17, takes place in none other than Sin City, where Blart and his teenage daughter decide to vacation before she heads off to college. And as we all know, crime never sleeps, and apparently neither do mall security officials.

The decision to set this sequel, and so many other movie sequels, in Vegas begs the question: Why Vegas? To gain some sense of clarity, here's a look at whether or not Vegas is a better destination for film sequels than it is for 21st birthdays.

‘The Godfather Part II’ (Win)

The iconic Godfather series won the jackpot when it headed to Vegas to shoot several scenes for The Godfather: Part II. While the movie was based in other locations including New York, Sicily, and Havana, Vegas made an award-winning appearance in the box office hit. With a production budget of $13 million, the film grossed $47,542,841 overall. The movie also became the first sequel to win an Academy for best picture, in addition to other Academy wins including best actor in a supporting role, best writing, and best director. Talk about a royal flush!

‘Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous’ (Loss)

Though claiming the title of Miss Congeniality in her first movie, Miss Congeniality 2 was anything but congenial with audiences and critics alike. Scoring a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel sunk faster than the film’s Treasure Island ship scene in ratings and gross earnings. It earned half of its original, grossing a total of $48,478,006 in comparison to Miss Congeniality’s gross $106,807,667. But hey, it was pretty funny seeing Sandra Bullock tackle Dolly Parton; just not humorous enough to be worth the Vegas plane ticket.

‘Rush Hour 2’ (Win)

Winner, winner, Red Dragon dinner! Grossing $226,164,286 overall, the Vegas-bound sequel surpassed the first Rush Hour by a whopping $84,977,422 more in domestic gross. Though ratings didn’t soar quite as high, the film proved to be a financial victory. Plus, the finale takes place in the Red Dragon Hotel and Casino on the Vegas strip, which is arguably the most action-packed scene in the movie. Jackie Chan's character asks, “War, what is it good for?” In this case, absolutely Vegas.

‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’ (Loss)

Looney Tunes: Back in Action looked more like the morning after stupidly cashing out at the casinos in box office ratings when it grossed a low $20,991,364 overall. Compared to Space Jam’s earnings of $90,418,342 domestic and $230,418,342 worldwide, the film’s gamble on its Vegas sequel wasn’t much of a bingo. While getting looney in Vegas didn’t seem to work for this sequel, hopefully the upcoming Acme Looney Tunes movie will redeem the franchise.

‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ (Win)

Vegas may be an overdone location for sequels, but post-apocalyptic Vegas is certainly a new one. The third installation of the Resident Evil series earned more than the original, grossing $50,648,679 overall in comparison to the first movie that grossed $40,119,709; and thus proving Vegas was well-worth the trip. With flesh-eating zombies in place of drunk and stumbling vacationers, Resident Evil: Extinction put Vegas as a set location back on the map – an undead city map that is.

‘Step Up All In’ (Loss)

Dancing and filmmaking usually go hand-in-hand, considering how well movies like Flashdance and Dirty Dancing did at the box office; but take an original hit, make four continuations of it, and set the last film in Vegas, and its bound to sashay its way into a losing spot. The total domestic gross of the fifth installment made a disco-move-crushing $14,904,384, making it the lowest grossing film of the entire series. The first film made $$65,328,121. But at least the choreography looked cool, right?

‘Think Like a Man Too’ (Loss)

Think Like a Man Too played into the clichéd Vegas experience: Couples heading to Sin City for a romantic weekend, which ultimately goes awry. The result here included poor reviews and and decreased gross estimates, kind of like a typical Vegas wedding! The film grossed a low $65,182,182 in comparison to Think Like a Man, which made $91,547,205 overall. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 23% rating. 

‘Honey, I Blew Up the Kid’ (Loss)

Aside from its horrifying title, the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sets up an even more terrifying scene in Vegas when the protagonist’s 100 ft. tall toddler son walks down the strip thinking it’s a giant play land. What’s even worse is how poorly the film performed in box office ratings. While Honey, I Shrunk the Kids earned $130,724,172 in total domestic gross, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid pulled in less-than-half with $58,662,452. If only Wayne Szalinski could have used his growth machine to blow up the hype for this movie…

‘Godzilla’ (Win)

If any movie redeemed the idea of shooting sequels in Vegas, it was this one. Ranked as the highest-grossing film of all Godzilla movies to date, this 2014 remake grossed a jaw-dropping $200,676,069 in domestic and $528,676,069 in worldwide profits. In the true nature of Godzilla, the film had audiences running for their wallets even without its classic Tokyo location. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a decent 74% rating. But what was a win for Godzilla ended up being a loss for Vegas as the enormous dinosaur-lizard-thing ended up destroying most of the strip. Wish fulfillment?