Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

• 1. Development Timeline

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  Production began in September 2015 when Sony Pictures started looking for a screenwriter. Rob Letterman was originally set to direct the project again after his work on the first film. He dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with Detective Pikachu, which required him to work for Legendary Entertainment. Ari Sandel took over as director in December 2017. The release date shifted multiple times during this process. It moved from the 26th of January 2018 to the 21st of September 2018 and finally settled on the 12th of October 2018. The title also changed several times before the final version. Early drafts called it Goosebumps: HorrorLand and later Goosebumps: Slappy's Revenge.

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• 2. The Unleashed Manuscript

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  Teenager Sarah Quinn lives in Wardenclyffe, New York while writing an essay for her college application. Her brother Sonny brings home Sam Carter, who stays there for three days while his parents are away. They find an unpublished manuscript inside an abandoned house formerly owned by R. L. Stine. Reading the incantation accidentally brings Slappy the Dummy to life. The dummy is currently inanimate until they unlock its power. Bully Tommy Madigan steals the manuscript from them shortly afterward. Slappy reveals his sentience to the duo but asks them to keep him a secret from their family. He then assaults Sarah's ex-boyfriend Tyler Mitchell for cheating on her. He sabotages Sonny's science project which was a working model of the Wardenclyffe Tower created by Nikola Tesla.

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• 3. Casting And Puppetry

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  Filming began on the 7th of March 2018 with a new cast including Madison Iseman and Jeremy Ray Taylor. Ken Jeong and Chris Parnell joined the production the following month. Wendi McLendon-Covey played Sarah's mother Kathy. Jack Black returned as R. L. Stine but his role remained uncredited in the final script. Sony representatives initially stated that Avery Lee Jones would voice the character. Mick Wingert actually provided the voice for Slappy instead. A scene features action figures modeled after Ryu and Ken Masters from Capcom's Street Fighter series. These figures emit pre-existing voice clips when brought to life by Slappy. The film did not use RealD 3D screenings unlike the first movie.

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• 4. Financial Performance

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  The film grossed $93 million worldwide against a production budget of $35 million. It earned $46.7 million in the United States and Canada combined. Another $46.6 million came from other territories globally. Opening weekend numbers reached $15.8 million across 3,521 theaters. This figure was down 33% compared to the first film's opening of $23.6 million. The movie made $4.9 million on its first day including $750,000 from Thursday night previews. It finished fourth at the box office behind Venom, A Star Is Born and First Man. The film dropped 38% in its second weekend to earn $9.7 million. It opened in third place in the United Kingdom on the 19th of October 2018.

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• 5. Critical Response

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  Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 48% based on 93 reviews. Metacritic assigned it a weighted average score of 53 out of 100. CinemaScore polled audiences who gave the film an average grade of B on an A+ to F scale. Bilge Ebiri wrote for Vulture that the sequel lacks invention and emotional investment compared to the original. Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave it a C grade noting workmanlike direction of monsters. Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail gave three stars out of four calling the climax fresh rather than frantic. The critical consensus stated the film offers treats for very young viewers but is a ding dong to ditch compared to the entertaining original.

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