Open Road Films Acquires Rights to A HAUNTED HOUSE Sequel

By: Caryn Robbins Apr. 08, 2013

Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 (Working Title) - the sequel to this year's hit film A HAUNTED HOUSE - to be co-written by and starring Marlon Wayans. The film will be financed and produced by IM Global's genre label Octane. The announcement was made today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films and Stuart Ford, CEO of IM Global.

A HAUNTED HOUSE, released in January 2013, opened to $19 million at the U.S. box-office and has taken in over $40 million to date.

Open Road Films will release A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 - which will star Marlon Wayans - nationwide in Winter 2013-14. A HAUNTED HOUSE will be released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on DVD, Blu-Ray, and VOD on April 23, 2013. Production on A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 is scheduled to take place this summer.

Marlon Wayans' co-writing and acting credits include: Dance Flick, White Chicks, Little Man, Scary Movie 1 and 2; his acting credits also include G.I. Joe: Rise of The Cobra, Requiem For A Dream and the upcoming The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, directed by Paul Feig. A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 is one of fourteen films that the ubiquitous IM Global, a member of the Reliance ADA Group of companies, has financed or co-financed in the past two years either alone or in partnership with majority shareholder Reliance Entertainment or production joint venture Automatik.

"Marlon Wayans is one of the funniest and hardest working talents in the movie business," stated Ortenberg. "Working with Marlon, producer Rick Alvarez and IM Global on A HAUNTED HOUSE was a fantastic experience and we are thrilled to re-assemble the team for another hilarious movie."

Marlon Wayans stated, "Rick and I are excited about embarking on this journey again. IM Global has been a great, supportive partner and Open Road did a fantastic job marketing and releasing the movie. I'm looking forward to doing it again, mainly because of the fun we had The First Time around. 'Fun' is the keyword when doing funny. Let's go (in my @iamdiddy voice)!"

Alvarez added, "We look forward to getting started on the next chapter of what we hope will become an incredible franchise. Our goal with the first movie was to create big laughs on a tiny budget and with the help of our partners, our creative team, and the tireless promotion of Marlon we were able to achieve that goal."

"What Open Road achieved with the micro-budgeted first film was tremendous and we have every faith that we can now generate a hit sequel together," stated Ford.

The deal was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by Ortenberg, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Affairs Elliott Kleinberg, and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Ben Cotner. Larry Kopeikin and Kevin Yorn negotiated on behalf of Marlon Wayans. He is also represented by CAA and managed by Lisa Blum. Stuart Ford and Michael Roban negotiated on behalf of IM Global.