Operation Fortune hints at a sequel at the end of the movie, as it sets up another mission that involves Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) and Sarah Fidel (Aubrey Plaza) - but Operation Fortune 2 might never happen. The 2023 release is another action crime caper from the mind of writer/director Guy Ritchie, who has made a name for himself by making movies full of ridiculous quips and comedy violence. And Operation Fortune is no different, as it follows the titular spy working with a group of other spies to retrieve the Handle before an arms dealer, Greg (Hugh Grant), can sell it for billions of dollars.
In the wrong hands, Operation Fortune's Handle would destroy the financial market, but Fortune and his gang of spies successfully retrieve it and complete the mission. While the movie is a fun popcorn flick despite its "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems Operation Fortune is a day at the office that Lionsgate producers would rather forget. Given the plagued marketing, the controversy surrounding the film, and the box office underperformance, Lionsgate isn't likely to rush into greenlighting a sequel. Nevertheless, the ending of the film heavily teases an Operation Fortune 2.
How Operation Fortune's Ending Sets Up A Sequel
It was Nathan Jasmine (Cary Elwes) who hired Orson Fortune to retrieve the Handle, and Nathan appears once more at the end of the movie to offer Orson, along with Sarah and J.J. (Bugzy Malone) another job. However, they instead decide to go on a 10-day vacation. Given that another mission is waiting for them after that vacation, this perfectly leads to Operation Fortune 2. The Operation Fortune post-credits scene also alludes to more shenanigans to come, as Greg is directing Danny (Josh Hartnett) in a version of the events of Operation Fortune as a movie-within-a-movie, which could somehow cleverly lead to a sequel too.
Why Lionsgate May Have Ruined Operation Fortune 2
As box office performances mostly dictate what movies get sequels and what don't, it's unlikely that Operation Fortune 2 will ever happen. Unlike most of Ritchie's other movies, which tend to be huge hits, Operation Fortune hasn't been all that successful. The movie was released in certain European countries two months before its domestic release, and it only made $30 million (via Box Office Mojo). Its opening weekend in the U.S. hasn't been successful either (though competing against Creed III didn't help its chances). Given that the film likely won't make back its $50 million budget, a sequel probably won't happen.
The Operation Fortune movie marketing was arguably its biggest issue, as the movie has been plagued ever since the marketing rollout in late 2021. The movie originally had a January 2021 release date scheduled, but it was delayed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, as many of the henchmen in Operation Fortune are Ukrainian. The studio made the right decision to postpone the release, but that meant taking a hit on the marketing budget, as promoting a film that didn't come out was suboptimal to say the least.
However, underperforming movies have found their audiences on streaming. As Operation Fortune will be on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, if it's a hit on the platform, Lionsgate could potentially consider a sequel. And while the studio also has the problem of getting the cast back together, as Operation Fortune is full of A-list movie stars, that could be the easiest part of getting a sequel into development. Statham and Grant are regular collaborators of Ritchie's, and the other actors look like they're having a great time on screen, so the star power alone could be enough for Operation Fortune 2.
