Around two months after filming commenced on Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston’s Murder Mystery 2, the pair shared a wrap video on Instagram to celebrate the completion of the shoot. The film follows up their 2019 movie, which set a record on Netflix at the time as one of their biggest ever original movies, and it did not take long for the streamer to put a sequel into development. However, the Covid pandemic meant a number of filming delays that have held up the film, but the new announcement has confirmed that filming has finally completed.
Murder Mystery was watched by over 31 million subscribers over its first weekend on release, the biggest the time on the platform. Although it would be overtaken in the following years, there is no doubt that the combination of big name stars and a promise of more of the same again will be enough to pull in a respectable audience when Murder Mystery 2 makes its debut sometime next year.
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Both Aniston and Sandler shared a video on Instagram, which was captioned, “Merciiii Paris FR That’s a wrap. #MurderMystery2.” In another post, co-star Mark Strong shared his own post, saying, “All wrapped on Murder Mystery 2! A truly lovely cast and crew. Happy Easter everyone.”
Can Murder Mystery 2 Improve on Critic Reviews of its Predecessor?
Netflix
Like many recent movies such as Red Notice, Murder Mystery pulled in a lot of viewers for Netflix, but when it comes to the critics and audiences, most of them didn’t rate the film very high at all. The film languished at a 45% critic approval and 42% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, that didn’t stop the impressive viewership numbers pushing the film to the top of Netflix’s charts. This is something that is becoming a kind of normality for movies on streaming platforms, with quality seeming to lack but viewer numbers remaining strong.
Murder Mystery 2 is part of a deal of films that Netflix signed Sandler up for, with other recent movies from him including Hubie Halloween, The Do-Over, and The Ridiculous 6. However, unlike some of Sandler’s biggest hits of years gone by, except Hubie Halloween, all of his recent comedy films have failed to get any kind of positive reaction, with The Ridiculous 6 getting a 0% rating by critics. Both Sandler and Netflix will be hoping that Murder Mystery 2 can manage to gain a bit of positivity than the first movie, although we maybe shouldn’t hold our breath on that just yet.
In contrast, Sandler’s dramatic role in Uncut Gems turned out to be a surprise hit with critics, with the consensus noting that “Sandler is a formidable dramatic actor when given the right material.” That film hit a 92% critic rating, although audience opinion was just as divided as his comedy movies. It seems that you really cannot please everyone, and Sandler will probably manage to prove that once again when Murder Mystery 2 brings more chaotic comedy to Netflix in 2023.
