Could it be that Young Adult book series don't have the box office clout that they used to? The third Divergent movie, Allegiant , failed to hit number one on its opening weekend, and January's The 5th Wave seemed to disappear from theaters fairly quickly. Still, fans of the latter's movie and novels are hoping to see The 5th Wave sequel become a reality. The next book in the Rick Yancey series is called The Infinite Sea, and if it stayed true to the novel, the next film adaptation would follow spunky heroine Cassie Sullivan (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her allies into a new life continually threatened by an occupying alien force. Sounds cool, right? Well, the only problem is that The Infinite Sea movie hasn't been greenlit just yet.
There are countless reasons why a movie might not be moved into in-production status, but it's a decent bet that the studio's hesitancy to move forward with The 5th Wave series has a lot to do with box office. IMDB shows that, as of a month after its opening, the first film had failed to recoup its budget of $38 million in U.S. box office numbers. The 5th Wave 's future earning potential seems even smaller when those numbers are compared to the success of the first Hunger Games film, which cleared over $150 million in its first weekend alone and also far scored better with critics.
But that's not to say a sequel is impossible. The Fifth Wave was far more profitable overseas than it was domestically, and Moretz tweeted an encouraging box office update on Feb. 22, thanking the fans for their support.
It's clear the studio is invested in keeping the series alive. Entertainment Weekly reported back in 2013 that Sony had entered into a "a significant six-figure deal" to ideally "launch a franchise." This commitment to the books may justify at least one sequel, even if not an entire series. Besides, fans are eagerly waiting. Search "The Infinite Sea" on Twitter and you'll find them tagging the studio and the stars, hoping for news of another 5th Wave movie. The site Page To Premiere spotted a Facebook post to Sony's official page that was greeted with a promising response. The user used the hashtag "We Want The Infinite Sea Movie"; Sony commented, "Thank you for your comment. We will be posting news very soon! :)" Still, no info has yet been posted.
So will there be an Infinite Sea movie? At this point, not even the star of the film seems to know for sure, but hopefully a follow-up will be announced before long.
Image: Sony Pictures
