Here I Come’ Set to Open in Theaters One Week Early

Ready or not, here comes Ready or Not 2: Here I Come with an earlier release date. In what comes as a promising update for the highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Ready or Not, the new sequel will be premiering at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, with the movie’s new release date lining up even more closely to the conclusion of the festival. While the movie is set to premiere at the event in Austin, Texas, it hasn’t yet been given a premiere date. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is now set to hit theaters on March 20, up a week from its previous March 27 release date.

Deadline confirmed the shift in release, though no information has been given about the motivation for the change. It’s possible that, with other genre movies like Alpha and They Will Kill You also set to open on March 27, there will be less horror competition for the movie at the box office. Ready or Not 2 isn’t guaranteed to dominate its new release weekend, however, as it will be up against Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary and the horror-comedy Forbidden Fruits.

Deadline notes that it comes as a positive sign that the release date has been moved up, though this could prove troublesome for the picture. The first screenings of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple were incredibly enthusiastic, which saw the third film in the 28 Years Later series getting the green light weeks before it landed in theaters. While critical reactions to Bone Temple echo those promising first reactions, the movie saw a 71% drop at the box office, so even if early reactions to Ready or Not 2 are promising, this doesn’t ensure financial success.

An Unexpected Hit

The original Ready or Not hit theaters in late summer 2019 and, while starring some familiar faces to genre fans, was comprised of a cast that wouldn’t quite be called A-listers. Even without a well-known cast, the movie fared well with critics, sitting at 89% positive on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, a rare feat for a horror movie released in late summer.

When the movie hit home video months later, it was shortly before the coronavirus pandemic saw many movie fans desperate for any new content, including this unassuming horror movie. The movie came from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who followed Ready or Not with 2022’s Scream, a sequel that reinvigorated the franchise, as the pair returned for the sequel Scream VI. The success of their Scream films introduced more audiences to Ready or Not, and when the movie hit Netflix in late 2024, its popularity grew even further.

Even though star Samara Weaving might not be a household name yet, having starred in projects like Mayhem, The Babysitter, Azrael, and Borderline has made her following in the genre world expand, with her return for Ready or Not 2 paying off years of fans’ hopes and wishes.