The Nice Guys is undoubtedly one of the best movies of both Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling’s careers, but it still hasn’t gotten a sequel. In The Nice Guys, Crowe and Gosling play Jackson Healy and Holland March, an enforcer and a private investigator in 1977 Los Angeles who reluctantly team up with each other to find a missing woman. Because of Crowe and Gosling’s incredible chemistry, The Nice Guys is one of the funniest films of both their careers, but it also has high stakes since everyone around Healy and March are ending up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

The Nice Guys is directed by Shane Black, who also helmed films such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3. Black is an incredible writer and director, and reviews for The Nice Guys were amazing upon its release. Currently, the film has an impressive score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes (via Rotten Tomatoes). However, despite great reviews, a much-desired sequel to The Nice Guys has still not been confirmed. This is disappointing, since The Nice Guys definitely still deserves a sequel almost ten years after its release.

Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling’s The Nice Guys Had So Much Potential For A Sequel

The Ending Of The Nice Guys Perfectly Sets Up A Sequel

At the end of The Nice Guys, Healy and March manage to solve the case and take down their enemies. Even though they are very different characters, Healy and March surprisingly work well together and clearly both secretly enjoy having a partner. In the last scene of the film, Healy and March are celebrating at a bar while admiring an advertisement for their new detective agency, which is appropriately called “The Nice Guys.” Therefore, this confirms that they will continue working together going forward.

This final scene sets up a potential sequel, which could follow Healy and March on any one of their future cases. A sequel to The Nice Guys could once again be set in the 70s, or move into the 80s and explore Los Angeles in a different decade. Overall, there are infinite possibilities for a sequel to the critically acclaimed film, and Black has even admitted that he has a lot of ideas for a follow-up movie. However, a sequel to The Nice Guys has unfortunately still not been greenlit.

Why The Nice Guys Wasn’t More Successful Upon Release

The Nice Guys Was A Box Office Disappointment

Even though The Nice Guys received amazing reviews upon its release, it was not a box office success. The Nice Guys made $71 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $50 million (via Box Office Mojo). While it did make more than its production budget, it probably still lost the studio money because of additional advertising costs. In April 2024, Gosling provided a negative update on The Nice Guys 2, claiming that a sequel film hasn’t happened because the first movie had an underwhelming opening weekend. He said:

So much of a sequel, I think, is decided by the opening weekend of a movie, and we opened up against Angry Birds. So Angry Birds just, just destroyed us. Angry Birds got a sequel.

During its opening weekend, The Nice Guys only made $11 million, whereas its main compeтιтor, The Angry Birds Movie, made an impressive $38 million. Overall, The Nice Guy’s high ratings did not convince enough people to watch it in theaters. Even though Crowe and Gosling are both popular actors, The Nice Guys is not a franchise film or based on a well-known IP, meaning it couldn’t compete with a popular kids movie like The Angry Birds Movie. It is unfortunate, but The Nice Guys’ underwhelming box office haul is the main reason why a sequel hasn’t been made.

Why The Nice Guys 2 Looks Unlikely (Albeit Not Impossible)

There Is Still Some Hope For The Nice Guys 2

Even though Black, Crowe, and Gosling have all claimed that they would love to make a sequel to The Nice Guys, it seems unlikely. Gosling’s 2024 comments suggest that there is no forward momentum for the project. Additionally, even though The Nice Guys has been a hit on streaming services, it would be very hard to get funding for a sequel almost a decade after the original. However, not long after Gosling’s comments, producer Ken Kao offered a potentially positive update on The Nice Guys sequel in May 2024. He said:

I think that we just have to make it on a budget. I think that continues to be the producers’ challenge and the filmmakers’ challenge now. I think the sign of the times is that we’ve just got to make films in a sustainable and responsible way. We can’t keep having movies that don’t work at the box office, and it seems like the streamers aren’t going to just cut blank checks anymore. So we’ve got to figure out a way in this industry to make movies in ways that reward the people that make them. That also are made in a contained way where those that are releasing the films can continue to feel incentivized to do so. And I think that’s the task, that’s the challenge for us, as producers, to pull that off.

Based on these comments, it is clear that Kao is interested in making a sequel to The Nice Guys. While it wouldn’t be able to have a budget of $50 million, like the first film did, it’s still possible that it will happen. Since The Nice Guys has been a hit on streaming, there’s a chance a sequel could get greenlit despite the disappointing box office haul of the first film. Therefore, even though it’s been almost a decade since the release of the first movie, I still desperately want a sequel to The Nice Guys to get made.