Sing 2 is a 2021 American computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by Illumination, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to Sing (2016), it was again written and directed by Garth Jennings. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Jennings, Peter Serafinowicz, Jennifer Saunders, and Nick Offerman, reprising their roles from the first film. The sequel also features new characters voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Spike Jonze, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Chelsea Peretti, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Adam Buxton, and Bono. Like the previous film, Sing 2 features songs from many artists, most of which are performed diegetically. The story is set after the events of the previous film, where Buster Moon and his group put on a show in Redshore City while working to impress an entertainment mogul and enlist a reclusive rock star to perform.
Sing 2 | |
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Directed by | Garth Jennings |
Written by | Garth Jennings |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Edited by | Gregory Perler |
Music by | Joby Talbot[1] |
Production company | Illumination |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 110 minutes[3] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $85 million[4] |
Box office | $409.2 million[5][6] |
Sing 2 had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 14, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 2021, and in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2022, by Universal Pictures. The film has grossed over $409 million worldwide against a production budget of $85 million, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of 2021 and the tenth highest-grossing film of 2021 and received positive reviews.
Sometime after the events of the first film, Buster Moon is thriving with his new theatre. However, he fails to impress talent scout Suki, who tells him he would not make it in Redshore City. Buster, encouraged by Nana Noodleman, reunites the singers who competed in the first film, except for Mike, and takes them to the city.
They sneak in for an audition with entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal. As Jimmy is uninterested in Buster's original show pitch, Gunter suggests a space-themed musical that includes songs from Clay Calloway, a legendary rock star who has not been seen in 15 years. Intrigued, Jimmy greenlights it, telling them to have the show up and running within three weeks.
During production, Rosita develops a fear of heights during rehearsal and is unable to keep on her role, which Moon begrudgingly gives to Jimmy's daughter Porsha on his insistence while Rosita is delegated to a minor role. Meanwhile, Johnny has been assigned to work with top choreographer Klaus Kickenklober for his part in the show but senses that Klaus dislikes him due to his inability to dance. Johnny comes across a street dancer named Nooshy, who agrees to help him out. Meena has been cast in a romantic scene with Darius, a self-absorbed actor. Having never been in love before, Meena is unable to get the feelings across during their scene. She later meets and falls in love with an ice cream vendor named Alfonso.
Ash and Buster visit Clay Calloway to convince him to be in the show. He refuses at first, but Ash changes his mind. Back at the theatre, Buster asks Porsha if she would like to switch roles with Rosita as she cannot act. Porsha misinterprets this as Buster firing her, breaks down, and runs away. Upon learning this, Jimmy threatens Buster by nearly throwing him off his building before locking him in a closet. Suki later frees Buster and warns him to get out of Redshore City before Jimmy can kill him. Ash arrives with the crew and Calloway, who advises Buster not to run and hide as he did after his wife Ruby died. Buster then decides to have the cast and crew put on the show one night behind Jimmy's back and has Miss Crawly get Porsha to rejoin them in the show, while Johnny calls his dad and his gang to come over and keep Jimmy and his goons at bay.
During the show, a jealous Klaus takes the place of Johnny's performance partner to try to undermine his number, but Johnny defeats Klaus with encouragement from Nooshy and finally earns Klaus' respect. Porsha performs a high energy song and dance number, earning the adoration of the crowd in spite of her father's attempts to stop the show, infuriating him. Meena visualizes Darius as Alfonso and performs a romantic duet with him. Jimmy tries one last time to stop the show by throwing Buster off the top of the stage, which causes Rosita to overcome her fear of heights to save Buster. When the time comes for Calloway to take the stage, he claims that he is not ready. Ash leads the crowd in a rendition of one of Calloway's songs, giving him the courage to perform.
After the show, Jimmy is arrested by the police. Just as Buster and his friends prepare to leave the following morning, Suki stops them and tells them that a major theatre wants to put on their show. As the cast puts on their first performance, Buster watches from the VIP section, proud to have succeeded in Redshore City.
Asher Blinkoff, Julianna Gamiz, Asa Jennings, Caspar Jennings, Remy Edgerly, Leo Jennings, Oscar Jennings, Ayden Soria, Adeline Krupinski and Jack Stanton voice Rosita and Norman's piglets, while Matthew McConaughey's daughter Vida Alves McConaughey voices a piglet that goes splashing in chocolate.[10] Garth's wife, Liesie Jennings, voices a dog worker making Meena's costume for the show. Garth's friend, George Griffis, voices a dog worker at the lobby trying to get the stick back from Nooshy. One of the assistant editors, Thomas Walters, voices Barry, one of Big Daddy's gorilla friends who spotted Crystal entering the theatre during the final act.
As with the first film, Wes Anderson, Chris Renaud, and Edgar Wright all have cameos in the film, with Anderson as a tarsier night cleaner,[11] Renaud as Linda Le Bon's show announcer, and Wright voicing a dog cop and a pig chauffeur.[12] Scott Mosier, director of The Grinch, voices Mason, a walrus worker on making the sets for the show. Joy Poirel, Additional Production Supervisor of Sing, voices the GPS in the rental car.
On January 25, 2017, Universal Pictures and Illumination announced a sequel to its 2016 animated film Sing was in development. Writer/director Garth Jennings and producers Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy return along with voiceover stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll, and Tori Kelly.[13]
In December 2020, Bobby Cannavale, Letitia Wright, Eric André, Chelsea Peretti, longtime Illumination collaborator Pharrell Williams, Bono and Halsey were added to the voice cast.[14] Work on the film shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was done remotely following the temporary closure of Illumination Mac Guff.[15]
The scope of the theatre in the finale was a major stepping stone to take over 10,000 animals for the crowd department, old and new ones designed by longtime Illumination artist Eric Guillon who not only worked on Sing but have designed the new characters in the sequel like choreographer Klaus and the tarsiers.[16] Fashion brand Rodarte designed some of the costumes used in the film.[17]
In December 2020, Joby Talbot returned to compose the score.[1] U2 performed the film's original song "Your Song Saved My Life". The song was released on November 3, 2021.[18] Additional music includes songs by Kiana Ledé, BTS, Sam i, Billie Eilish, Elton John and more. The film's soundtrack was released on December 17, 2021.[19]
Sing 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by various artists | |
Released | December 17, 2021 (2021-12-17) |
Genre |
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Label | Republic |
Singles from Sing 2 | |
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No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Your Song Saved My Life (from Sing 2)" | U2 | 3:31 |
2. | "Let's Go Crazy" |
| 3:09 |
3. | "Can't Feel My Face" | Kiana Ledé | 3:21 |
4. | "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" | Elton John | 3:14 |
5. | "Heads Will Roll" | Scarlett Johansson | 3:36 |
6. | "Holes" | Mercury Rev | 5:54 |
7. | "Bad Guy" | Billie Eilish | 3:12 |
8. | "Sing 2 Audition Medley[lower-alpha 1]" | Sing 2 Cast | 1:47 |
9. | "Where the Streets Have No Name" |
| 2:36 |
10. | "Higher Love" |
| 3:48 |
11. | "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" |
| 3:23 |
12. | "Suéltate (from Sing 2)" |
| 3:30 |
13. | "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" | Johansson | 3:39 |
14. | "Soy Yo (Sing 2 Mix)" | Bomba Estéreo | 2:57 |
15. | "A Sky Full of Stars" | Egerton | 3:26 |
16. | "Could Have Been Me" | Halsey | 2:28 |
17. | "I Say a Little Prayer" |
| 2:09 |
18. | "Break Free" |
| 1:34 |
19. | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" |
| 3:01 |
20. | "Tippy Toes (Bonus Track)" |
| 2:08 |
21. | "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Bonus Track)[lower-alpha 2]" |
| 2:36 |
Total length: | 65:08 |
Chart (2021–2022) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] | 9 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] | 65 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] | 80 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] | 144 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] | 59 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] | 20 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] | 31 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] | 86 |
US Billboard 200[28] | 41 |
Sing 2 had its world premiere, opening the AFI Fest Celebration on November 14, 2021,[2] and was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 2021, in RealD 3D, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[29] after previously being scheduled to be released in the United States on December 25, 2020,[30] and July 2, 2021.[31] Early access screenings occurred in the United States on November 27, 2021.[32] The film was premiered in the Middle East on December 9, 2021,[33][non-primary source needed] and was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2022,[34] and was also released in the Philippines on February 23, 2022.[35][non-primary source needed] The film was released to video on January 7, 2022, on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, Xfinity, and YouTube.[36] It was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 29, 2022, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.[37]
Tomy made a deal with Illumination and Universal to develop the Sing 2 toy line, featuring plush toys, collectible figures, and a role-playing game.[38] Roblox released an Adopt Me live event in partnership with Illumination to promote this film.[39] The film is also many promotional partners including Xfinity,[lower-alpha 2] McDonald's,[40] and Mercari.[41] By its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, the film had made 393.1 million impressions across all social media platforms, a statistic 24% above those of a film released before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the film had a better social media reach than 2021's Encanto, The Addams Family 2, Tom & Jerry, Spirit Untamed, and The Croods: A New Age.[42]
As of May 1, 2022[update], Sing 2 has grossed $162.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $246.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $409.2 million.[5][6]
In the United States and Canada, the film earned $1.6 million from sneak previews held on November 27, 2021.[43] The film had its wide release the following month on Wednesday, December 22, alongside The King's Man and The Matrix Resurrections, and was projected to gross $40–50 million from 3,892 theaters over its first five days of release.[44] The film ended up grossing $22.3 million in its opening weekend (and a total of $41 million over the five-day frame) from an estimated 4.1 million theater admissions, placing second at the box office behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. Women made up 58% of the audience during its opening, with those below the age of 25 comprising 56% of ticket sales and those below 17 comprising 44%. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 39% were Hispanic and Latino Americans, 35% European Americans, 15% African American, and 7% Asian or other.[42] In its second weekend, the film remained in second place with $20.2 million.[45] Sing 2 once again retained second place at the box office in its third weekend with $11.6 million.[46] On January 8, 2022, Sing 2 became the first animated film of the COVID-19 pandemic to cross $100 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office as well as the first film since Frozen II (2019) to reach this milestone.[47][48][49] The film earned $8 million in its fourth weekend,[50] $5.75 million in its fifth,[51] $4.7 million in its sixth,[52] $4.2 million in its seventh,[53] $3.1 million in its eighth,[54] $2.85 million in its ninth,[55] $2.3 million in its tenth,[56] $1.6 million in its eleventh,[57] $1.6 million in its twelfth,[58] $1.45 million in its thirteenth,[59] and $1.4 million in its fourteenth.[60] The film dropped out of the box office top ten in its fifteenth weekend, finishing in eleventh place with $878,230.[61]
Outside the United States and Canada, Sing 2 opened in several international markets on December 3, 2021. The film made $1.12 million in its first weekend,[62] $1.5 million in its second,[63] and another $1.5 million from 16 markets in its third.[64] After screening in an additional 22 markets, Sing 2 earned $19.2 million in its fourth weekend and had the biggest opening for an animated film during the COVID-19 pandemic in both France ($6 million) and Mexico ($3.6 million).[65] The film made $17.2 million in its fifth weekend, which included a $1.2 million opening in Ukraine,[66] $17.1 million in its sixth weekend,[67] and $8.4 million in its seventh weekend.[68] In its eighth weekend, the film had strong openings in Germany ($3 million), Poland ($2.4 million), and Austria ($500,000).[69] In its ninth weekend, the film earned $17.4 million from 62 markets, which included a $9.3 million opening in the U.K.[70] In its tenth weekend, the film earned $14 million from 63 markets, which included a $1.1 million debut in the country of Denmark where pandemic restrictions had recently been lifted.[71] The film crossed the $300 million mark worldwide in its eleventh weekend after adding $11 million to its total, which included a $2.2 million debut in the Netherlands.[72] The film's gross remained consistent in its twelfth weekend with $10.3 million that included a 1% drop in the U.K.[73] Sing 2 crossed the $200 million mark outside the U.S. and Canada in its thirteenth weekend.[74] By March 6, the film had surpassed the original film's gross in the U.K. with $40.5 million.[75] In its fifteenth weekend, the film added $3 million to its total gross and the Sing franchise as a whole passed the $1 billion mark.[76] The film made $6.1 million in its sixteenth weekend, which included a $4.3 million opening in Japan.[77] It added $3.6 million in its seventeenth weekend.[78] The film crossed the $400 million mark worldwide with the addition of $1.9 million in its nineteenth weekend. It is the first film since Frozen II, the first animated film during the pandemic, and the ninth Illumination title to reach the milestone.[79] It made $1.2 million the following weekend.[80]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 130 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads, "Second verse, same as the first: For audiences that enjoyed the first installment, Sing 2 should prove another endearing diversion."[81] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[82] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale (the first Illumination film to receive this grade), while PostTrak reported 91% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 78% saying they would definitely recommend it.[42]
Justin Lowe, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, praised the musical set of the film, calling the "ragtag cast that Buster had brought for an amateur cast, had blossomed into a full-fledged company of professional performers".[83] Peter Debruge, of Variety, gave a positive review, saying the film is "an elaborate machinery of joy, and it's easier to appreciate how every choice seems designed to put a smile on people's faces".[84] Emily Clark of Plugged In praised the film's inspiring and emotional elements, but took issue with the fact that "(Meena) tells Buster she’s not OK kissing someone on stage, and he sort of dismisses her...The whole affair made me a bit queasy thinking about how many a young starlet has received her first smooch from a total stranger at the behest of adult directors and producers."[85]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Reference(s) |
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Hollywood Music in Media Awards | November 17, 2021 | Best Music Supervisor(s) – Film | Mike Knobloch Rachel Levy |
Nominated | |
Best Original Song – Animated Film | Your Song Saved My Life – U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and David Evans) | Nominated | |||
Best Soundtrack Album | Sing 2 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
NAACP Image Awards | February 26, 2022 | Outstanding Animated Motion Picture | Sing 2 | Nominated | [86] |
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture | Letitia Wright | Won | |||
Eric André | Nominated | ||||
ACE Eddie Awards | March 5, 2022 | Best Edited Animated Feature Film | Gregory Perler | Nominated | [87] |
Art Directors Guild Awards | March 5, 2022 | Excellence in Production Design for a Animated Film | Olivier Adam | Nominated | [88] |
Visual Effects Society Awards | March 8, 2022 | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature | Patrick Delage, Nathalie Vancauwenberghe, Christophe Lourdelet, Boris Jacq | Nominated | [89] |
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature | Ludovic Ramière, Théo Rivoalen, Henri Deruer, Frédéric Mainil (for Crystal Theater) | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature | Richard Adenot, Guillaume Gay, Frédéric Valz-Gris, Antoine Brémont | Nominated | |||
Annie Awards | March 12, 2022 | Best Animated Feature | Sing 2 | Nominated | [90] |
Producers Guild of America Awards | March 19, 2022 | Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures | Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy | Nominated | [91] |
American Cinema Editors Awards | March 5, 2022 | Best Edited Animated Feature Film | Gregory Perler | Nominated | [87] |
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | April 9, 2022 | Favorite Animated Movie | Sing 2 | Nominated | [92][93] |
Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie | Scarlett Johansson as Ash | Won | |||
Reese Witherspoon as Rosita | Nominated |
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See also |
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Films directed by Garth Jennings | |
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