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UPDATE: Sony Pictures is not known for risky moves. So all through the holidays rival studio execs were predicting that Amy Pascal et al would not go forward with the 2nd and 3rd film installments of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium trilogy The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest. 
That opinion was based on the mediocre opening for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Sure its domestic debut was significantly behind M:I4 and Sherlock 2, but it’s R-rated and both of those are PG-13. Then overseas grosses, expected to be huge, began trickling in underwhelming. GWDT opened only 3rd in the UK, and disappointing in Asia, and “not as good as hoped for” in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Now I’ve learned that Sony Pictures is indeed going forward with The Girl Who Played With Fire already written by Steve Zaillian, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest which Zaillian is penning. Studio chief Pascal and producer Scott Rudin have not yet locked in David Fincher as director. But they’re looking to start shooting #2 by the end of this year/beginning of next. Overseas, Sony now expects GWDT to do over $200M — so $300M all in globally. “And that’s a really good number,” the Sony exec told me hopefully. But one mogul counters, “The surprising part is that Sony is not waiting to see if the movie works overseas before going forward with the sequels. I would have.”
Right now Dragon Tattoo has amassed a $76.8M domestic cume and should get very close to $100M because it’s holding better than any other holiday movie. Sony and rival studios believe the movie’s box office was hurt by that long brutal rape scene not appropriate for a Christmas release. (“It’s a notch too dark for that window,” one studio chief tells me. Agrees a top Sony exec, “It was too cocky of us. We might think about that next time.”) Counting against GWDT was that the Hollywood version of the bestselling book had already been made into a Swedish film widely distributed beginning in 2009. Plus Zaillian and Fincher changed the first book’s ending. As for book #2, its challenge is that title character Lisbeth Salander (played by Rooney Mara) isn’t much in it. But Sony has changed that, too, and Zaillian’s script places her front and center again.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Good – I hope zallian can refine the story a bit. I know Larson died as soon as he turned them in, but books 2 and 3 don’t come close to living up to dragon tattoo.
yea right…book 3 is the best! it all makes perfect sense only after reading the 3rd one. i love book 2&3 way more than the dragon tattoo…
I second that. Though the series overall is awesome. I’m shattered Larsson died so early.
Good. I am excited for book 3. mI just finished #2 and ready to move on. I am excited that all 3 will be tied in together. Can’t wait. Thanks for your post.
…it’s a three part series with a beginning, middle and end…great series and BTW the Swedish films stand alone as excellent with no need to be remade…if Tattoo is any example of American porting STOP…just Netflix the original films…
Pah, you’re having a laugh. The Swedish versions were mild, light hearted low budget tripe. I like to pretend they weren’t made, the newer film was as dark and gritty as it should be, much truer to the book.
Great movie. Bad release date. People will find this film, if not in the theaters, then DVD. It’s a quality film and I think there will be anticipation for the next one.
You’re kidding, Shmisbeth??? To me, each book was better than the last!
Personally I enjoyed it just as much as the Swedish films but didn’t feel it brought anything new. There was nothing to distinguish this film from the original IMHO besides the fact that there were different actors and they were speaking English.
I also feel like this probably shouldn’t have been released as a holiday film. I confess if I was not a fan of the books and originals I would not have seen this in theaters.
the swedish version were equally as good why is david fincher taking his time on these remakes? His film was solid but surely didn’t bring anything new to the trilogy
Both are adaptations from a book, so neither is original and Fincher’s isn’t a remake. I sincerely doubt either film ‘bring anything new’ to the trilogy, and would wager they actually suffer from following the books instead of treating the movie as its own independent entity.
I didn’t hate Fincher’s version, but it felt already dated and trite – he’s working a moldy aesthetic on material that isn’t strong enough to rise above the quality of its execution.
Certainly Dragon Tattoo (mostly unintentionally) asks complicated questions about the nature of victim-hood and how personal and societal histories/secrets/cover-ups are interlinked, but neither Larson nor Zallian bring anything to the table other than rote genre causality, a sluggishness-of-thought that Fincher is all too eager to indulge when in slumming-mode (c.f: Panic Room).
Oh, we’re sorry. You had something better.
Please fax us your book and adapted screenplay.
Are you kidding me??? There was way more detail in English version than the Swedish!! If I hadn’t read GWDT book first, the Swedish version would have flown over my head!
Also, Daniel Craig was a much more convincingy Mikael than the Swedish actor (no offense) but I felt he was a much better representation of how the author describes Mikeal. Lastly, I felt even though they played with the story line a bit, you definately walked away with Larsson’s intitions of the book which was to show Lisbeth’s deep sense of judgement for men who ‘hated women’!
That never really came through on the Swedish version. There was much less passion and intensity. Yes the film is dark, that was the beauty of the books. Dark but passionate. I hope the awards shows bring some needed attention. This is such a great series!! I would hate for it to be lost in the masses.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do for the next 2 movies. I was excited to hear that Zallian had changed the ending of the first movie from the novel because I anticipated something that would have been fresh and new and possibly make the ending not so telegraphed (which is how it felt in the Swedish version too, but not the novel). Unfortunately the one moment he did change was one that didn’t really make all that much sense when you think about it.
Also, if they got a new director I wouldn’t be upset. I love David Fincher, but it definitely felt like he didn’t put much effort into this film. For an adaptation that tried to do so much, they skimmed over many things relatively quickly that could have been cut all together in order to make something that allowed room for the tension to actually sink in.
if not mistaken it’s the 3rd book she is barely in, not the 2nd.
how was the ending changed form the book to fincher’s film?
it was changed in the swedish version. not this one.
Fincher’s film is much more faithful to the source material.. in all ways except spoken language.
you are correct. book 2 is more about lisbeth than book 1. book 3 she’s in a hospital bed almost the entire time.
The change in this film is that SPOILER, Joely Richardson is actually the long-lost sister, living under the other woman’s name in London. In the book and the Swedish film, the woman in London leads them to the long-lost sister, who is raising sheep in the backwaters of Australia. They are not one character. It saved screen time, but I’m not sure it’s entirely logical.
The movie was great. Seeing it at Christmas was a little weird though.
I actually liked books 2 & 3 better than DWTDT, so I am very glad that Sony is going ahead with the next movie. Please, Please get Fincher again to direct. He did a great job.
it would not make more than 100m any other time of the year, it could open bigger but the end result would be the same…it is not a blockbuster
I think this movie was amazing. It followed the book better then the swedish version. I cant wait for the next one to come out
Amazing film. Would have died if sequels didn’t go forward…
Will Hollywood ever learn that nobody cares about Daniel Craig?
I changed my mind to Craig after I saw this movie. I’ve got a one-track/narrow mind. I now really like him, and his solid performance was worthy of notice.
Hey, I do! He was an awesome Blomkvist!
Oh whatever! A lot of people care about Daniel Craig, obviously myself included!! He nailed Blomkvist!! Perfect. Stop hating and admit the movie was stellar! Can’t help it that Americans have to be spoon fed in order to enjoy a movie!
Replying to Dragon Lady and Shmisbeth: It’s one story spread over three episodes for me, so the question of which ‘book’ is better is a moot point.
Being a native Swede (now living in Hollywood Hills) who I used to live close by to all the Stockholm locations of the books/movies, I find the Hollywood version oddly weak. The first half of the film was slow, yet I think it failed to explain and create a proper baseline for what to come. The role of Armanski and Plamgren, and their emotional impact on Lisbeth, was not well, if at all, explained. The hacker experience of Lisbeth, that is a very key ingredient of the books, where not explored at all, and all the implications was lost. I did not find Christopher Plummer a very good Henrik Wanger. Emotions missing.
And there where some very obvious mistakes. In the two overview shots of the bridge to the “one bridge island”, two bridges where in the shot.
Nevertheless, Roony Mara is a much better Lisbeth than Naomi Rapage and Stellan Skarsgard, in the final scenes just oozes out evil with such conviction that it was hard to watch.
i completely agree with you the complete lack of back story for lisbeth’s relationships with armanski and palmgreen was a great dissapointment to me. I really prefered the Swedish film. This american one seemed almost like a dumbed down version, it lacked much of the depth of the book and first movie.
Why are you surprised? If countries had middle names ‘dumbed down’ would totally be America’s.
I hope Fincher doesn’t return. It didn’t seem like his heart was that invested in the first one. The territory the film covered seemed like it was much better mined in Seven and Zodiac. Plus, the sequels could keep their budgets down without him, and we won’t have to hear reports about their box office being disappointing. I love the guy, but his style lends itself to inflation of production costs. I was stunned to learn Dragon Tat cost more than War Horse, for example.
saw this movie last week and im still trying to figure out whether or not i liked it. it’s odd… i certainly didn’t dislike it but, as a huge Fincher fan, it felt kind of tame — explicit sex & violence excluded obviously.
i will say, however, that it’s encouraging (given the downward spiral that is Hollywood with all the prequels/sequels/remakes garbage) to know that movie like Dragon was even allowed to be made at all.
if they do make a sequel and it’s made in the same uncompromising light (hard R), i’ll definitely buy a ticket.
The film has it’s audience. It will become a cult classic with that audience. Whether or not it was a massive success at the box office does not determine the quality of work. Personally, I found it to complement the book very well, despite some changes. The swedish film had no concept of time. It jumps from one scene to the next, and it snows heavily the entire time, therefore all of the events could have happened in just a week, or a month. Although I wish some details hadn’t been delivered prematurely (ones not mentioned until the second book), I otherwise enjoyed the latest version thoroughly.
I loved the movie… and I am thrilled that they will go forward with the next two.. great books and I am sure they will be great movies. Just like with books, no one can appreciate good movies anymore!
Blame Daniel Craig, he is box office poison
betting david won’t do it.
I’d be surprised if he did. I have a feeling a sequel would have to be done on the cheap.
Of course, I also won’t be surprised if they never actually get around to making it- especially with the film underperforming overseas. Much better to say the franchise is still a go than to have to keep downplaying rumors to the contrary.
yes, he’s a smart guy
I think that the American movie makers don’t realize the fans there are for the books and the movies made in Sweden. It will catch on with word of mouth if they just leave it on the screen. I have watched all three Swedish ones and I am sure this will make it’s money on DVD rights. Sometimes the Americans just don’t get it. All they think about is the profit. But a film like this is so unique, they must value it for what has been done. And thank goodness they are going to continue with the other two. They mustn’t let us down by canceling those.
“that long brutal rape scene” eliminates a significant portion of the female audience.
No, it doesn’t. The rape scene had a significant meaning and although I was squirming in my seat, I anticipate heavily for the next movies. I loved it. I loved its message.
That makes me interested in catching this scene on the net.
movie was good….followed book fairly closely…except the actors had British accents…..i found book two to be the best of three great books…..thought it was all about lisbeth. lets hope it isnt changed too much, we want the same story….
A big yawn… The ‘novels’ are profoundly flawed and profoundly trash to begin with. It’s a pay check for poor D Craig and Finch. End
Thank you. Considering the unwieldy dreck the source material is, I thought Fincher at least brought some class and style to the proceedings (slow going, though). I was mesmerized by how perfect everything looked, and how good the acting was, cause I sure can’t give a damn about the plot and the exploitative rape violence masquerading as good intentions.
Wholeheartedly agree with this. All the issues I had with the film originated from the source material: slow pacing, sloppy storytelling, obvious mystery. Fincher’s direction and team gave this film all the style and interest it had.
Will the new piracy law prevent Hollywood from ripping off foreign films…and perhaps engage in creativity…
No, no. Changing the plot from the book will NOT be the way to increase the box office. That’s a good way to lose your core audience.