Despite being panned by many reviewers, there’s no denying the box office numbers that made Cruella a success. The film earned $222 million in worldwide ticket sales and that doesn’t even begin to cover the numbers from streaming on Disney+ PVOD.
According to Deadline, it seems Disney wasn’t to keep riding the success of the previous film and has closed a deal Emma Stone to appear in the currently untitled sequel. Patrick Whitesell, the executive chairman of Emma Stone’s agency, had this to say on the topic.
While the media landscape has been disrupted in a meaningful way for all distributors, their creative partners cannot be left on the sidelines to carry a disproportionate amount of the downside without the potential for upside. This agreement demonstrates that there can be an equitable path forward that protects artists and aligns studios’ interests with talent. We are proud to work alongside Emma and Disney, and appreciate the studio’s willingness to recognize her contributions as a creative partner. We are hopeful that this will open the door for more members of the creative community to participate in the success of new platforms.”
This news must mean that the Disney+ release model is working especially well, despite recent controversy surrounding the release of Black Widow. Disney CEO Bob Chapek even commented recently discussing the success of the platform.
Director Craig Gillespie and scribe Tony McNamara are also reported to return for the second film. There is not yet confirmation on when the Cruella sequel will be released.