'The Purge' Sequel: Box Office Champ Scares Up Another Entry

After frightening away the competition at the box office this past weekend, Universal Pictures is wasting no time in announcing that "The Purge" will receive a sequel. Producer Jason Blum confirmed the news in a tweet on Monday night.

"The Purge 2" is among the projects selected for the California Film Commission's $100 million tax-credit lottery, Deadline.com reported earlier this month. Joining that list are an "Entourage" feature, January Jones' topless movie "Sweetwater" and the upcoming seasons of "Teen Wolf," "Justified" and "Pretty Little Liars."

Now that the development deal is official, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have not yet revealed whether James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed the first movie, will return. Furthermore, no details regarding the filming schedule have emerged.

But if the new edition maintains something comparable to the original's measly $3 million budget, we may be able to expect another box office success story. "The Purge" became the weekend's sleeper hit, leaping past its competition to earn an impressive $36.4 million. The movie slayed the Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson comedy "The Internship," which debuted at No. 4, and topped former champ "Fast & Furious 6" as well as the all-star cast of "Now You See Me."