Following the massive success of The Housemaid, the sequel didn’t take long to get moving, and we now know that the budget for The Housemaid 2 is ballooning. Why will the movie cost so much?
The adaptation of Freida McFadden’s novel took audiences by surprise when it arrived in 2025: a page‑turner thriller propelled by Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, telling the story of a young woman pressed to the edge who becomes a live‑in housekeeper for a wealthy family and ends up entangled in their darkest secrets. It exploded at the box office, racking up more than $400 million worldwide on a $35 million budget—an unequivocal triumph at the theaters.
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Naturally, the plan for a sequel moved forward with little delay. It’s been known for a while that The Housemaid 2 is in development, that Paul Feig will return to direct, and that Sydney Sweeney will reprise her role alongside a new addition, a certain Kirsten Dunst. Recently, we also learned, somewhat unexpectedly, how much the film is expected to cost (at least in preliminary terms). And if there’s one thing to say about a project of this scale, the price tag is hefty… Exactly how much, and why?
The Big Payoff for The Housemaid
As Deadline reported exclusively, the chatter began in Cannes, where Helen Lee‑Kim, Lionsgate’s head of international markets, shared more details. According to rumors (not yet official), the budget for The Housemaid 2 could land somewhere between $70 and $80 million, a figure that could still evolve as plans firm up.
Compared to a blockbuster like a Mission: Impossible movie at about $300 million, that sum might seem modest. Yet, given the scale of the first film and the number of intimate dramas and thrillers with limited casts and near‑single‑set environments that still carry substantial price tags, this is a substantial allocation. By contrast, a title like Wedding Nightmare 2 reportedly cost just $14 million, even though it featured more sets, effects, and cast members than The Housemaid.
To balance the scale on the other end of the spectrum, Devil Wears Prada 2 cost around $100 million (vs. roughly $40 million for the first film, not counting inflation), a budget that some might justify by the return of big‑name Hollywood stars, a lavish array of sets, costumes, cameos, and extras… So what should we expect from The Housemaid 2 to justify spending nearly twenty million dollars more than the original’s price tag? Helen Lee‑Kim offered a few clues:
“We’re expanding the universe of the first film in a big way. The second book is even twistier, and the movie will be just as surprising. It will be structured a bit differently. We hope to shoot by the end of the year. The entire creative team is back, including Sydney [Sweeney] and Michele Morrone [the muscled gardener with the somewhat insistent gaze], who has a larger role in the second movie. Kirsten [Dunst] is part of the adventure, and there are still two fairly funny male roles we’re actively casting.”
Meanwhile, the sequel’s shift to New York—especially into penthouses owned by the ultra‑rich—suggests that the overall budget will inevitably rise, thanks to the inclusion of lavish interiors and high‑end locations. Still, a project like The Drama, which also unfolds in New York and makes use of opulent sets and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, managed to come in at just $28 million.
So what logic explains why The Housemaid 2 could swallow so much money? It’s conceivable that, given its popularity and the first film’s box‑office heft, Sydney Sweeney negotiated a significantly higher salary (whereas Zendaya or Robert Pattinson might have renegotiated downward to facilitate The Drama’s production). But at this point, it’s pure speculation.
Meanwhile, it’s possible the sequel’s dedication to extravagant production design—whether real or built—will push its overall ambition closer to the scale of The Devil Wears Prada 2 than to The Drama or Wedding Nightmare. But for now, the bar remains sky‑high, to the point where one might half‑expect the finale to feature exploding skyscrapers (and that might not be such a bad thing).
So the question remains: will the budget translate on screen, or will it simply pad the pockets of the producers and the cast? For now, given the first film’s box‑office score, The Housemaid 2 probably isn’t risking much by doubling the price tag. Whether the movie will also double its earnings—arguably the goal—remains to be seen. The film is currently being shown at the Cannes film market.
