Denzel Washington's $131 Million Comic Book Movie With Mark Wahlberg Is Ripe For A Sequel 11 Years Later

Summary 2 Guns successfully debuted as number one at the box office, ultimately bringing in $131 million worldwide.

The film's stars, Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, are key draws and have a history of box office success.

Although a sequel has not been formally announced, potential plans for a 2 Guns sequel could involve the comic book series, 3 Guns.

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg united for a comic book action movie 11 years ago, and 2 Guns still holds sequel potential over a decade later. Released in 2013, 2 Guns is based on the 2007 comic book created by Steven Grant and Mateus Santolouco and published by Boom! Studios. The action movie starred Denzel Washington as special agent Bobby Trench and Mark Wahlberg as U.S. Navy Petty Officer Michael Stigman. It followed the undercover duo as they ran for their lives and attempted to take down a major drug cartel.

With a comic book as a source material and the combination of its star power, 2 Guns was largely expected to launch a franchise for Universal Pictures. The major action movie received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences upon its release, stalling out the box office run at $131 million worldwide. Its been over a decade since 2 Guns came out, and Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg moved onto other franchises with no sequel progress made. However, a 2 Guns sequel could still be worth doing for all parties involved.

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2 Guns Was Successful Enough To Warrant A Sequel

The Movie Should Have Made A Profit At The Box Office

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2 Guns might not have been the biggest movie of Mark Wahlberg or Denzel Washington's careers, but it was still a success. The film debuted in theaters and won the box office in its first weekend, overtaking The Wolverine in its second weekend and defeating The Smurfs 2 as counter-programming. The R-rated action movie went on to make $131 million worldwide after reportedly carrying a budget of $61 million (via Box Office Mojo). It is typically stated that a movie's box office needs to double its budget to break even, which 2 Guns barely managed to do.

If 2 Guns at least broke even for Universal or even turned a small profit, there is some logic to the idea of it becoming a franchise. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are significant draws at the box office, but competition was stiff for the film's debut in 2013. Considering the following year saw Denzel headline The Equalizer movies and Mark Wahlberg star in a new Transformers movie, the financial success of both franchises under their leads are good signs for how a 2 Guns sequel could perform.

How A 2 Guns Sequel Could Happen & What 3 Guns Story Would Be About

A Sequel Comic Was Written

With over a decade passing since the original movie, the odds of a 2 Guns sequel happening at this stage appear slim. However, all it could take is either Washington or Wahlberg finding renewed interest in returning to this world for plans to move forward. Universal never formally announced development on a 2 Guns sequel, so any potential development at this stage might only happen if the stars push for it to be made.

If Universal does decide to make a sequel, there is source material for the next movie. Steven Grant and Boom! Studios published 3 Guns in 2014, which could be used as the basis for the next movie. A 3 Guns movie would follow Bobby and Trig as they become part of an arms deal with the Russians. The comic also introduced a Third Gun, a mysterious woman who enters Bobby's life and wants a piece of the deal. That would give the 2 Guns sequel a chance to add a major female action star to the mix to increase excitement.

Source: Box Office Mojo