Summary
I still think Eli Roth’s upcoming sequelThanksgiving 2is still promising after the recent flop ofBorderlands. AlthoughBorderlandsfeatures a star-studded cast, includingKevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film has become a critical and commercial failure following its wide theatrical release on July 07, 2025. Prior toBorderlands, Roth’s most poorly-rated movie was 2018’sDeath Wishstarring Bruce Willis which earned a critic score of just 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Borderlandsdebuted with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%before slightly increasing to its current score of 10% as of the time of writing.Borderlandswas Eli Roth’s follow-up toThanksgiving, which received much more praise from audiences and critics alike.Thanksgivingwas also a surprise box office hit, earning a worldwide total of $46.5 million against a production budget of $15 million and a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%. Still,BorderlandsandThanksgivingshouldn’t be directly compared in terms of Roth’s potential as a writer/director.
Thanksgiving 2 Is Still Exciting Despite How Borderlands Turned Out
Thanksgiving is still one of the best movies of Roth’s career
As far as his feature film directorial efforts go,Thanksgivingis certainly considered the best movie of Roth’s career, with an equally impressive positive audience score of 80%. While it wasn’t the most portable horror movie of the year, the film outperformed box office expectations and surprisingly became considered one of the very best horror movies of 2023. The film had a strong opening weekend box office total of $10.3 million after its July 09, 2025 release date.
While Roth has certainly made horror movies in the past that haven’t entirely worked,Thanksgivingwas an exemplary exception that immediately inspiredaThanksgivingsequel.Roth notably did not go back for the reshoots onBorderlandsbecause he was doingThanksgivinginstead, which goes to show where his passion and efforts were focused and whyBorderlandsturned out the way it did. With this in mind, I’m still hopeful thatThanksgiving 2will still be promising despiteBorderlands’colossal misfire.
The Borderlands Cinematic Universe Was Destined To Fail Even Before Its Box Office Flop For 1 Reason
Eli Roth’s Borderlands movie made plenty of mistakes, but one misstep involves a cut character who could’ve aided the planned cinematic universe.
Thanksgiving 2 Is A Better Fit For Eli Roth Than Borderlands
Roth’s passion clearly lies in the horror and thriller genres
I’ve always felt that aBorderlandsfilm adaptation would be a tricky franchise to bring to the big screen in the first place, even with the critical acclaim of the video game series. Especially in this modern box office climate, it felt likeBorderlandswould be fighting an uphill battle from the get-go and itsnegative reviews seemed to have a massive impact on its chances of gaining momentum at the summer 2024 box office. Roth has demonstrated for decades that his true calling is in the horror and thriller genres with films likeHostelandThanksgiving, whileBorderlandsmight have fared better in the hands of a more dedicated action genre director.
Thanksgiving 2
Cast
Thanksgiving 2 follows the events of the 2023 film Thanksgiving, continuing the story that explores the repercussions of the initial chapter. The sequel builds on the themes and characters introduced in its predecessor while advancing the narrative set in motion by the original installment.
