Smile 2 had its world premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, where it received a fantastic response from critics, many of whom deemed it superior to the original 2022 entry. Helmed by Parker Finn, the sequel stars Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, and more.
Most critics singled out Scott’s performance as one of the best aspects of Smile 2, hailing it as her career-best. They also praised the sequel’s cinematography, use of jump scares, darkly comic elements, storyline, exploration of themes like grief and trauma, and Finn’s direction.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Smile 2 currently has a ‘fresh’ critic score of 82% based on 50 certified reviews.
Here are some of the first reactions to Smile 2!
Cris Parker (an RT-certified critic) called the sequel “insanely good” and praised its direction, gory moments, and Scott’s performance.
#Smile2 is INSANELY good. This sequel out does everything the first did & has brought the series to a new standard. Surprisingly gorey, VERY well directed, genuinely scary. Naomi Scott delivers an Oscar level performance & that’s not an exaggeration. Im still so shocked by it all pic.twitter.com/Jq9knUMWfL
— Cris Parker (@3CFilmss) October 16, 2024
Manuel São Bento from FandomWire and an RT-certified critic declared the film one of the best horror flicks of 2024!
SMILE 2 blew me away! An award-worthy step-up in every way to the original: magnificent cinematography, clever jumpscares, bloody, gnarly imagery & thematic depth surrounding grief, trauma & guilt. Career-best performance from Naomi Scott. 2024's best horror film. Damn! #Smile2 pic.twitter.com/qHZckdO1ZJ
— Manuel São Bento (@manuelsbento) October 15, 2024
Film and TV journalist Scott Menzel believes that the movie is not for the faint of hearts.
Smile 2 is a lot to process and will haunt you for days after seeing it. It blows the first film away in almost every way. Naomi Scott is fully committed and delivers arguably one of the best performances I’ve seen in any film this year. Parker Finn clearly has a lot to say about… pic.twitter.com/o9KgwPSPle
— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) October 16, 2024
Nicholas Spake from WatchMojo praised the sequel’s pop star premise and taking its paranoia to a whole new level.
Russ Millheim from The Direct called the sequel “an insanely unsettling, nerve-wracking experience.”
True to the expectations set by the first film, #Smile2 is an insanely unsettling, nerve-wracking experience.
— Russ Milheim - The Direct (@RussMilheim) October 11, 2024
Naomi Scott is incredible. The film really shines in its opening and final acts, where it paints an intriguing image of the franchise's future. pic.twitter.com/pgLRMIsbu1
Smile 2 will arrive in theatres globally on October 18. With a $28 million budget, it is projected to earn $20-25 million during its domestic opening weekend, or possibly more. These figures are on par with the first film’s opening weekend collection of $22.6 million. Stay tuned for more updates.