Finnish action thriller Sisu 2 made a striking debut in the US, ranking sixth at the weekend box office with ticket sales of €2.3 million across more than 2,200 screens. The release marked the widest US rollout ever for a Nordic film, signaling growing international interest in Finnish cinema.
Directed and written by Jalmari Helander, Sisu 2 follows the 2023 original and continues the story of Aatami Korpi, portrayed by Jorma Tommila. In the sequel, retitled Sisu: Road to Revenge in most markets, Korpi ventures into Soviet territory to reclaim timber from his family home, clashing with a former Red Army officer played by Stephen Lang.
Producer Petri Jokiranta said the performance aligned with studio projections. “Sony predicted this result quite closely. It’s a feat in itself to get a Finnish film into the US top ten,” he told media outlets. While the film fell slightly short of the €2.6 million forecast reported by Deadline, it remained within acceptable commercial parameters for Sony, which co-financed the project.
Financial analyst Anthony D’Alessandro noted that the primary revenue potential lies in post-theatrical distribution. “This is a micro-budget project for Sony, aimed at later-stage success,” he wrote.
The US box office over the weekend was dominated by Wicked: For Good, which drew 80 percent of North American cinema-goers and grossed €130 million. Jokiranta emphasized that audience overlap between the two films is limited.
The original Sisu opened in the US with half the number of screens, earning €3 million, and remained in the top ten for three weeks in spring 2023, eventually grossing over €13 million worldwide, more than half from North America. Its success was amplified by streaming platforms, including Hulu and Tubi, where it ranked among the top ten for several weeks.
Sisu 2 has already screened in 28 countries, including the UK, India, Germany, Australia, and Spain, with 276 screens in the UK alone. It premiered in Finland on 22 October, drawing over 117,000 viewers, matching the opening of the first film. Jokiranta noted the numbers are “strangely identical,” with the original ending its Finnish run as the third most-watched domestic film of 2023 with 183,000 cinema-goers.
The film premiered in the US on 21 November, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest cinema periods in North America. Jokiranta highlighted favorable conditions, citing heavy theatre traffic from Wednesday to Sunday and no new competing releases in the same genre during the holiday.
Sisu 2 also featured at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, in September, a festival known for fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and cult films. Critical reception in the US has been broadly positive. Brandon Yu of the New York Times described it as “blood-splattered absurdity” that evolves into “foggy popcorn euphoria,” while Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times called it “the year’s most visually intense action adventure.”
The €12 million budget film has been marketed with region-specific imagery: Finnish posters feature Tommila’s character wielding two Suomi submachine guns, while international versions depict him atop wrecked aircraft and motorcycles. Jokiranta compared the film’s potential appeal to the John Wick series, noting that its extreme action style also attracts horror audiences.
