With an impressive opening weekend at the box office for The Best Man Holiday--almost topping Thor, director Malcolm D. Lee is reportedly already negotiating a deal with Universal for a third installment.

According to Deadline.com, since The Best Man Holiday grossed $30 million domestically as it was only a $17 million film, Universal wants Lee to write, direct and produce another hit of the romantic comedy.

Though it took 14 years to come up with the second installment, the third project will need to happen much quickly as this is a priority for Universal.

"I always wanted to do a follow-up at some point. I didn't think that I wanted to do a sequel right away, because there were people encouraging me to do a sequel, a television show right away. I wanted other stories to tell as an artist. I didn't want to be pigeon holed as an artist, telling only one kind of story. I had said to myself even back then that I would re-visit these characters 10 years later just to see what kind of life," Lee said in an interview with Huffington Post.

The Best Man Holiday had the fifth-largest opening for an R-rated romantic comedy, the second-highest opening for an urban romantic comedy and the sixth-biggest opening for an urban-themed film overall.

In an earlier interview, Morris Chestnut, 44, who plays Lance Sullivan--a pro football player in the film revealed that it was difficult for him to physically get into character after so many years

"Malcolm said they wanted me to take my shirt off, and there were a couple of other explicit scenes that we didn't get to shoot, so it was tough for me emotionally and physically because I really couldn't eat. I lost a lot of weight for that movie just because I had to portray a football player that was still in shape," he said.

Tags
Thor