47 Meters Down: Uncaged follows the diving adventure of four teenage girls (Corinne Foxx, Sistine Stallone, Sophie Nélisse, and Brianne Tju) exploring a submerged Mayan City. Once inside, their rush of excitement turns into a jolt of terror as they discover the sunken ruins are a hunting ground for deadly Great White Sharks. With their air supply steadily dwindling, the friends must navigate the underwater labyrinth of claustrophobic caves and eerie tunnels in search of a way out of their watery hell.
Production Story
In the summer of 2017, Claire Holt and Mandy Moore starred in the contained, claustrophobic shark thriller, 47 Meters Down. The nail-biting adventure was made for just $5M, but went on to become the most successful independent movie of the summer, grossing over $62M at the worldwide box office.
However, the story behind the movie’s success had just as many twists, turns, and surprises as on screen. Originally planned as a VOD release (under the title “IN THE DEEP”), Entertainment Studios recognized the film’s full potential and purchased the rights a week before the digital release to turn it into the theatrical franchise it has become.
“We thought it was dead in the water, really,” admits director Johannes Roberts, who returned for the supersized sequel. “So when it landed and people were coming out to see it, it was amazing.”
Despite a slew of setbacks– different VOD title, physical copies spread around the world and on pirating sites– millions still swarmed the theaters to experience the flesh-gouging horror on the big screen. A feat that’s nearly impossible nowadays.
“Audiences, no pun intended, have a huge appetite for a good shark movie,” says Byron Allen, who in 1993 founded Entertainment Studios, based in Los Angeles. In 2016, Allen created Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures to expand into film distribution.
Acquiring the North American rights to 47 Meters Down was the division’s first dip into the market. “I’ve always appreciated shark movies and know that the audience appreciates them,” says Allen. “We came across the movie that Johannes had made and found it really strong. It turned out really well for us.”
Producer, Mark Lane, also confesses that its success was a surprise. “But it was a pleasant surprise!” he grins. “We don’t often hear about small British films like that working so well at the American box office. It was a bit surreal to experience it. We knew 47 Meters Down would, at worst, be a very good home entertainment title, and at best… well, that’s what we got!”
Go Big or Go Home
With $62m in the bank and fans around the world eager to see more people get torn apart by Great White sharks, a sequel was greenlit. Writer/director Johannes Robert, his co-writer Ernest Riera, and the rest of the 47 Meters Down team were excited to dive back into shark-infested waters.
“Byron had the first option and was keen to do it once the first one was released,” says Lane, before assuring us that, “47 Meters Down: Uncaged has the whole new dimension of cave diving, which is hopefully something nobody has seen before.”
“This movie will definitely take audiences for a ride,” Allen says. “It’s a lot bigger and with a lot more action. And it’s very unique: some young ladies go diving into an underwater cave system and they get caught down there with some very nasty sharks. It’s quite interesting in how they navigate or try to navigate, to safety. And it’s a lot of fun.”
Director Roberts, “trained up to be a cave diver on weekends, because [he] knew [he] wanted to do a cave-diving movie.”
He says that “47 Meters Down: Uncaged is very different from the first one. These four girls – two step-sisters and two friends – basically take a day by a lake in Mexico. One of the sisters is the daughter of an archaeologist working on this underwater mine city, mapping it out, and these girls all have basic dive skills, so they decide to go down to look at the first entrance. And then the tunnel collapses and they’re trapped.” Roberts flashes a shark-like grin before staying that, “they are not alone in there! So there’s claustrophobia, plus sharks! It’s pretty fucking scary.”
Allen is so confident in the stomach-churning sequel, he plans to cast a wide net for the US opening. “We’re talking 3500-plus screens,” for the summer release.
