Case in point, Jason Statham, a king of B cinema, stars in one of the films that has surprisingly taken over the Top 10 on Prime Video, and it’s not even one of the films he starred in recently for Amazon MGM (both A Working Man and The Beekeeper, which are on their way to becoming new Statham franchises). No, the Statham-starring film that has gripped Prime Video subscribers in recent days is none other than Meg 2: The Trench, the sci-fi sequel that pits Statham up against another killer shark. The popularity of the film could be telling the producers a major sign, though, that they should move on a Meg 3 sooner rather than later.
Jason Statham’s Meg 2: The Trench Takes Over Prime Video
Released back in 2023, Meg 2: The Trench follows in the footsteps of the previous movie and follows a group of scientists battling…you guessed it, a giant shark in exotic locales. Based on Steve Alten’s novel of the same name, a film stuck in development hell for years, The Meg was released in 2018 to mixed reviews but grossed more than $500 million at the global box office, which cemented this over-the-top film’s place in securing a sequel. Meg 2: The Trench was once again taken from the pages of Alten’s books, the film still found its way to success, grossing over $398 million globally.
Meg 2 making its way onto the most-watched movies on Prime Video is somewhat shocking, in part because it’s not like the film has some kind of special anniversary or renewed interest from something in the news cycle. No, Meg 2: The Trench, has managed to just climb the Top 10 purely from user interest. According to Flix Patrol, the film is currently the #7 movie on Prime Video in the United States, having climbed up the charts slowly over the past five days. As noted, there’s nothing to really explain WHY Meg 2 has suddenly become so popular, as it arrived on Prime Video on January 1st along with any number of other movies that are seemingly more beloved. This does raise hte question though, where is The Meg 3.
The good news for the Meg franchise, beyond the evergreen popularity of both shark movies and giant monster movies, is that there’s material they can continue to mine. Steve Alten’s book series that began with Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror back in 1997 kick-started a full series of stories with sequel subtitles like “Primal Waters,” “Nightstalkers,” “Generations,” and “Hell’s Aquarium.” Imagine that on a movie poster with Statham, and pretend it wouldn’t also climb the top 10 of a streaming service.
As noted, there’s no official word on when a third movie will get made, if at all, but the box office success of the two movies and international appeal is something that many franchises are missing in the modern box office landscape. One hold up may very well be that Meg 2 was an international production, produced by American production company Di Bonaventura Pictures, along with Chinese production companies, including China Film Co., Ltd. and Alibaba Pictures. The current political climate might have made this arrangement a little less viable than it was a few years ago, but frankly, Meg 3 still feels inevitable. In the meantime, watching Meg 2 on Prime Video appears to be the way to kill time until then.
