‘The Secret Life Of Pets’ Sequel Is Already In The Works

That was fast! It was announced today that The Secret Life of Pets already has a sequel in the works. According to Box Office Mojo, the popular kids movie has already earned more than $400 million worldwide in less than four weeks in theaters. The Secret Life of Pets had a production cost of approximately $75 million, and in the opening weekend alone it earned more than $100 million.

The Secret Life of Pets exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, and according to Vanity Fair, it had the best opening weekend ever for an original animated movie. The previous record was just set last summer when the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out had an opening weekend take of $90.4 million. In contrast, Inside Out cost an estimated $175 million to make.

‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ to be unleashed in 2018! https://t.co/EWeDcMl85d???????? pic.twitter.com/Td2pXyiuRM

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 2, 2016

With an all-star cast voicing the animals in The Secret Life of Pets, it was bound to be a hit. Max (Louis C.K.) is a pampered terrier whose life revolves around his human Katie (Ellie Kemper). Content to sit around all day waiting for her to get home from work, Max thinks life couldn’t possibly get any better.

While Max sits by the door, a variety of neighborhood animals stop by for a visit. Gidget (Jenny Slate) is a very girly girl and one of those tiny little yappy dogs. She watches terrible soap operas all day while dreaming about the day that Max finally notices her. Chloe (Lake Bell) is a big, lazy cat who brings the typical cat attitude to the role.

One day, when Max’s human comes home, she’s not alone. While she was out that day, Katie adopted Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a huge companion dog for Max. Needless to say, Max is not a happy dog and the next day when their dog walker takes them out, the duo get into a scuffle and wind up in a dark alley far from where they should be. While in the alley, they are accosted by some vicious cats and wind up in a truck on the way to the pound.

Stealing the show in The Secret Life of Pets is the sweet, fluffy bunny Snowball, played by Kevin Hart. He uses his cute appearance to his advantage while plotting with other abandoned animals to overthrow humans. Snowball leads the animals on a trek across the city to get them back home.

A number of animated movies are coming up in the next year or two including Illumination’s next film Sing, which is essentially an animated version of American Idol or Glee. Sing features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth McFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, and Matthew McConaughey and hits the theaters December 21, 2016.

For those adults looking for a funny animated movie, you can check out Sausage Party, the NSFW film about a sausage looking to discover the truth about his existence. The movie features the voices of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Salma Hayek, and James Franco to name a few. Sausage Party hits theaters August 12, 2016.

In November 2016, Disney’s Moana, featuring their first Polynesian princess, will be released. The voice of Moana is played by newcomer Auli’i Cravalho and also has Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock) playing a demi-god.

The second installment in The Secret Life of Pets series will hit theaters July 13, 2018. It will be directed by Chris Renaud, who directed the first installment as well as both Despicable Me movies. So far it has a working title of The Secret Life of Pets 2, according to Deadline. There is no news about casting or whether the film’s stars will be returning.

So tell us — are you looking forward to The Secret Life of Pets 2?

[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]