Sydney Sweeney is officially set to reprise her role in the upcoming sequel to The Housemaid, a psychological thriller that became one of the breakout hits of the 2025 holiday season. Lionsgate has greenlit the follow-up, titled The Housemaid’s Secret, with Sweeney expected to return as both star and executive producer, reuniting with director Paul Feig and co-star Michele Morrone.
The first film’s rapid ascent at the box office — grossing an estimated $133 million worldwide against a reported $35 million budget — was a rare mid-budget theatrical success in an era dominated by franchise blockbusters and streaming debuts. Lionsgate executives cited strong audience enthusiasm and social media buzz as key reasons for moving quickly on the sequel, fueled by the combination of Sweeney’s compelling performance and the story’s built-in fanbase. As of this writing, it is still going strong at the box office despite competition from big titles like Avatar: Fire and Ash and Marty Supreme.
In The Housemaid, Sweeney plays Millie Calloway, a young woman who takes a live-in housekeeping position with a wealthy Manhattan couple, only to find herself entangled in a web of secrets and psychological tension. The film, based on Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel of the same name, also stars Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar, and struck a chord with audiences for its twisty plotting and dark, character-driven suspense.
The Housemaid’s Secret will adapt the second book in McFadden’s series, promising a continuation of Millie’s fraught journey as she navigates new dangers and manipulations in a similarly treacherous setting. Feig, known for balancing sharp humor with edgy themes, returns behind the camera with screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine, preserving the tone that made the first film a standout.
The original Housemaid novel became a cultural phenomenon prior to its cinematic adaptation, spending extended time on bestseller lists and selling millions of copies worldwide, driven in part by fervent BookTok and genre-thriller fans. Its success helped propel the movie into theaters with an eager built-in audience, and now the franchise is poised to expand on that momentum in 2026 and beyond.