“Dirty Dancing” Sequel Announced 33 Years After First Release
An official sequel to the hit summer romance movie, Dirty Dancing, has been announced, 33 years after the first film was released.
Jennifer Grey, who starred in the original as Frances “Baby” Houseman, whose summer camp is enlivened by an affair with her slinky-hipped dance teacher, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), will return for the film. Swayze died at age 57 in 2009 of pancreatic cancer.
Studio CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed the news on an earnings call Thursday, referring to it as “one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood,” according to the publication.
It will be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise’s fans have been waiting for, and that has made it the biggest-selling library title in the company’s history.
The 1987 film starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as dance instructor Johnny Castle and vacationer Frances “Baby” Houseman who find love, and a now-iconic dance routine, at a holiday resort.
Also, The original film made $214m (£164m) at the global box office from a $6m budget.
The film’s key song, (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. The climatic scene in which the couple danced to the song, culminating in an impressive lift, became a fixture of pop-cultural reference.
In 2004, a spinoff film, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, starring Diego Luna and Romola Garai, set in 1958 Cuba, was released to moderate reviews.
