The Bad Guys 2, the sequel to the Dreamworks 2022 original, has just hit theaters. While it remains to be seen how it will far against Fantastic Four and Superman, reviews are in and in one category in particular, they are stunning.
As it stands, while The Bad Guys 2 has a great 85% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, it has an even better 95% audience score. That means it is currently tied as the highest audience score for a Dreamworks animated film, going back almost 30 years. Additionally, it’s the only sequel to do so out of the two, lower profile movies it’s tied with. There are only two sequels in the whole top ten list besides The Bad Guys 2, albeit I guess you could count Puss in Boots as a spin-off instead. Here’s the list:
- The Bad Guys 2 – 95%
- Spirit Untamed – 95%
- Abominable – 95%
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – 94%
- The Croods: A New Age – 94%
- The Bad Guys – 93%
- How to Train Your Dragon – 91%
- Shrek – 90%
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 – 90%
- The Prince of Egypt – 90%
Kids movies tend to have audience scores that skew rather high, “crowd pleasers,” as they are, but getting up there this high is an achievement. Interestingly, it’s fun to know that the recent How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake got a 97% audience score, better than any of these and one of the best for a mainstream film this decade. Impressive!
As for The Bad Guys 2, here’s the synopsis, building off the concept and events of the first one:
“Everyone’s favorite felons are back, and this time, they’ve got company. In the new action-packed chapter from DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed comedy smash about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws, our now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.”
It’s quite a cast, led by Sam Rockwell, but also featuring Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Zazie Beetz. Natasha Lyonne and Awkwafina. The original made $250 million worldwide, a solid haul, but it seems like the sequel could end up beating it, as its opening weekend looks like it will be higher. It’s dangerously close to Fantastic Four in taking the #1 spot.
It’s certainly the case that the audience score falls in time as more reviews come in, but for now? Yeah, it’s record-level.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.