Finnish action film Sisu 2 entered the US weekend box office as the sixth most-watched film, reaching audiences across more than 2,200 screens and earning €2.3 million in ticket sales. The result marked the broadest US release ever for a Nordic film.
Jalmari Helander directed and wrote the sequel, which follows 2023’s Sisu. Petri Jokiranta, the film’s producer, said the outcome was in line with studio expectations. “Sony predicted this result quite closely,” Jokiranta said. “It’s a feat in itself to get a Finnish film into the US top ten.”
Despite missing the €2.6 million forecast by Deadline, Sisu 2 performed within acceptable commercial parameters for Sony, which also helped finance the film.
Anthony D’Alessandro, a journalist at Deadline, wrote that the main financial potential lies in post-theatrical distribution. “This is a micro-budget project for Sony, aimed at later-stage success,” he said.
The US box office was dominated by Wicked: For Good, which opened at number one and drew 80 percent of all North American cinema-goers over the weekend, collecting €130 million. Jokiranta said the overlap in audience interest between the two films is limited.
The Sisu franchise follows the character Aatami Korpi, played by Jorma Tommila. In the sequel, retitled Sisu: Road to Revenge in most countries, Korpi enters Soviet territory to recover the timber from his former family home. He clashes with a former Red Army officer, played by Stephen Lang.
The original Sisu earned €3 million during its US opening weekend with half the number of screens. It stayed in the US box office top ten for three weeks in spring 2023 and later grossed over €13 million worldwide. More than half of that came from North America.
The first film gained traction on streaming services. It entered Hulu’s top ten for nearly two weeks in autumn 2025 and currently ranks fourth on Tubi, the most popular ad-supported movie streaming service in the US.
The sequel’s broader exposure follows screenings in 28 countries, including the UK, India, Germany, Australia, and Spain. In the UK alone, the film launched across 276 screens.
It premiered in the US on 21 November, ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend, traditionally one of the busiest cinema periods in North America. “The conditions are good,” Jokiranta said. “From Wednesday to Sunday, there’s heavy traffic to theatres.”
There are no new competing releases in the same genre scheduled during the holiday period.
In Finland, Sisu 2 premiered on 22 October and has drawn over 117,000 viewers, matching the performance of the first film at the same stage. “It’s strange how identical the numbers are,” Jokiranta said. The first Sisu ended with 183,000 Finnish cinema-goers, becoming the country’s third most-watched domestic film in 2023.
In addition to theatrical release, the sequel was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, in September. The genre festival focuses on fantasy, horror, science fiction, and cult films.
Critical reception in the US has been broadly positive.
Brandon Yu, writing in the New York Times, described the film as an overwhelming mix of “blood-splattered absurdity” that eventually becomes “foggy popcorn euphoria”.
Amy Nicholson, of the Los Angeles Times, called Sisu 2 “the year’s most visually intense action adventure” and noted Finnish President Alexander Stubb had recently referenced the national concept of ‘sisu’ in a public speech.
“This top-tier B-movie couldn’t ask for better branding,” Nicholson wrote.
The film’s budget was reportedly €12 million.
Marketing efforts have positioned Sisu 2 differently across regions. The Finnish poster features Tommila’s character with two Suomi submachine guns. The international version shows the same character standing atop a pile of wrecked aircraft and motorcycles, weapons in hand.
In most territories, the film’s violent tone places it in the extreme action genre. Its exaggerated style also appeals to horror audiences. Jokiranta compared the film’s potential to that of the John Wick series. “If that audience sees this as the action film to watch at year-end, there’s potential,” he said.
HT