Piranha 3D hit theaters this past weekend with a $10 million debut, and now a sequel is being developed. Director Alexandre Aja will return along with producer Mark Canton, who was thrilled by the positive things critics had to say about the film:

"We are thrilled that audiences are not just loving Piranha 3D, but cheering for it. And it's fantastic that so many critics are really getting the movie and recommending it. We can't wait to get to work on the sequel."

No specifics were given on the plot, although a recent interview with Aja could reveal a potential sequel storyline:

"We had many ideas, like the full moon party in Thailand-a huge event with like 200,00 young people from all around the world taking mushrooms and partying on the beach."

Here is the official press release from Dimension Films:

DIMENSION FILMS ANNOUNCES THAT PIRANHA 3D - THE SEQUEL IS IN THE WORKS: PIRANHA 3D WINS SUCCESS WITH AUDIENCES, CRITICS AND AT THE BOX OFFICE

New York, NY - August 23, 2010 - After earning rave reviews from top critics, wild cheers from audiences around the country, and $10 million in its opening weekend boxoffice, Dimension Films is pleased to announce that Piranha 3D - The Sequel is in the works.

Piranha 3D opened with fantastic reviews from top critics like the Associated Press and Reuters, enjoying a very Fresh rating of 80-82% favorable reviews on the popular movie review site Rotten Tomatoes throughout it's opening weekend. The movie has captured the attention of movie fans as well as elite media outlets like The Wall St. Journal , The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post .

And taking Hollywood by surprise, Piranha 3D - via a partnership with Funny Or Die - is the subject of a much-talked about campaign to be named Best Picture of the year. Funny Or Die's For your Consideration video for Piranha 3D took the nation by storm last week. And, as announced over the weekend, Academy Award nominee and Piranha 3D heroine Elisabeth Shue will debut a brand new video in the coming days on Funny Or Die.

"Run, don't walk: Piranha 3D is hilariously, cleverly gory. Mere words cannot describe how awesomely gnarly Piranha 3D is, how hugely entertaining, and how urgently you must get yourself to the theatre to see it. Like, now." - Christy Lemire, ASSOCIATED PRESS

"A bloody entertaining blast of a flesh-eating fish-out-of-water story...Piranha 3D a pitch-perfect, guilty-pleasure..." - Michael Rechtshaffen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER & REUTERS

"It's Jaws gone wild!" - Owen Gleiberman, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"Piranha 3D Is A Campy Masterpiece Of A Movie! My prediction: If you have an ounce of fun in your body, you will love this movie about killer piranhas that overtake a town of hotties - in 3D!" - Russ Weakland, HOLLYWOOD LIFE

Earlier this week, buzz about Piranha 3D reached a fever pitched when the year's first For your Consideration ad hit the internet, touting Dimension Films' Piranha 3D as a top candidate for Best Picture of the year. The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films partnered with Funny Or Die, a wildly popular comedy website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and viewed by 35 million people each month, in making the star-studded video advertisement promoting Piranha 3D for Best Picture.

Directed by Alexandre Aja, produced by Mark Canton and starring Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Jessica Szohr, Steven R. McQueen, Eli Roth, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook, (current cover of Playboy), Riley Steele, Paul Scheer, Ving Rhames, Ricardo Chavira, Richard Dreyfuss and Christopher Lloyd, Piranha 3D opened to rave reviews from the Associated Press and other top critics.

Every year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 for Spring Break -- a riot of sun and drunken fun. But this year, there's something more to worry about than hangovers and complaints from local old timers. A new type of terror is about to be cut loose on Lake Victoria. After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating piranhas, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.