The fish is back baby … even if the smell at the weekend box office wasn't great.
Weinstein/Dimension on Monday announced a follow-up to "Piranha 3D," which debuted to just $10 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, but garnered solid reviews and pre-release buzz.
"We are thrilled that audiences are not just loving 'Piranha 3D,' but cheering for it," said producer Mark Canton in a statement. "And it's fantastic that so many critics are really getting the movie and recommending it. We can't wait to get to work on the sequel."
The tongue-in-cheek 3D remake of the 1978 New World horror film "Piranha" cost around $24 million to produce and convert to format.
Rotten Tomatoes scores for the project were above 80 percent, belying a box-office performance that fell significantly below pre-release tracking.
"We're really happy with the incredible audience response on 'Piranha 3D," noted Weinstein Co. cofounder Bob Weinstein on Sunday. "We've had some very positive reviews and we're going to continue to support the movie."
Weinstein's release didn't specify as to whether Alexandre Aja will return to the "Piranha" directors chair. The status of stars Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd and Elisabeth Shue was also not specified.
