WATCH OUT: SAFE HOUSE SURPRISINGLY SECURES A SEQUEL

Safe House, released this past February by Universal Pictures, was something of a surprise solid hit, especially in the USA, where it earned $126 million of its $202.5 million worldwide gross. That $202.5 million is a very respectable number, considering the film didn't have many of the usual traits of a box office hit these days (super heroes, special effects, kid/teen friendly CGI, etc.). $202.5 million is solid business, even if it's not as big of a number as the worldwide box office results for say, Battleship, Wrath of the Titans, John Carter, Dark Shadows, or American Reunion (the movies currently at #16-#20 on the 2012 chart, above Safe House at #21). What Safe House did have going for it was something quite old fashioned called "star power" in the form of Denzel Washington and (to a lesser degree) Ryan Reynolds. The original Safe House was written by David Guggenheim while he was a staff writer at Us Weekly magazine, and now Guggenheim has been hired to write a sequel (that might actually be a prequel) as well. Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington starred in the original Safe House as a young CIA agent and the rogue agent he has to keep in a Safe House in South Africa, respectively. As of this week, there's not yet any sequel/prequel deals for Reynolds or Washington.