You would think it wouldn't be possible for the summer blockbuster hit Ocean's 8 to be made up of even more star power than it already is. That is until you hear that Oprah Winfrey wants to star in an Ocean's 8 sequel. That's right — the star-studded cast of Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Awkwafina, and Helena Bonham Carter could get even bigger. When it comes to entertaining the possibility of a sequel, apparently Oprah Winfrey is ready to be called into action, and this needs to happen immediately.
So how exactly did this little revelation come to pass? The question was broached to the entertainment mogul by Entertainment Tonight during the premiere of OWN's Love Is_ on Monday, June 11. When asked if she would be interested in becoming the ninth member of Debbie Ocean's badass female crew, Winfrey couldn't answer fast enough. "I'm in! I'm in ladies," Winfrey told the outlet, while dancing around in excitement. "Isn't it like the biggest Ocean's ever with all of them combined? Hello? Me too! Me too!" If the cast didn't already have an incentive to team up once more for a sequel, they certainly do now.
Speaking of the success of Ocean's 8, Winfrey isn't wrong in her comments about how well the film has done at the box office. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ocean's 8 had no trouble stealing the box office crown from its fellow contenders, including Solo: A Star Wars Story and Book Club. In fact, Ocean's 8 earned $41.5 million for its opening weekend while Solo only grossed a whopping $15.2 million during its third week out. This may come as a shock to those who were hesitant to accept another gender-swapping remake, which comes shortly on the heels of Sony's female-led Ghostbusters, but most people weren't surprised.
Ocean's 8 consisted of an all-female heist gang, ultimately replacing the former Ocean's Eleven crew run by George Clooney's Danny Ocean during the original franchise. Now Danny's sister is calling the shots and if those box office numbers are any indication, this could very well be only the beginning of this group's various illegal endeavors. The same report from THR states that Ocean's 8 came close to beating Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One to earn the sixth biggest opening weekend of the year to date, which is especially impressive considering that Ready Player One cost more than double to produce. (Ready Player One was made on a $175 million budget according to IMDB, compared to Ocean's 8 reported $70,000.)
As of now, there's been no official word yet that confirms a sequel to Ocean's 8, though the cast has already made it clear that they're open to the idea. Speaking about a potential Ocean's 8 sequel, Bullock noted that it's ultimately up to the fans and the box office to make that decision for them. “When you get down to it, the only way we get to make movies is by making someone some money. If this film doesn’t perform, then it’ll be another political statement,” Sandra Bullock told Refinery29 during a recent interview. She added:
“I don’t want that. What would be nice is that if this works, it works because it was a good movie, and that people forget that it was a group of eight women. And then maybe this group of eight women will take on a ninth person, and we’ll be able to do it again. But it all depends on how it performs.”
Considering the film has already done better at the box office than Ocean's Eleven did during its opening weekend, this reboot seems to be off to a good start. And, to top it off, now it has the likes of Oprah Winfrey ready to join their merry band of thieves, so a second go-round seems imminent, right? Here's hoping!
