Blumhouse Productions and eOne's Sinister 2, the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie Sinister, begins production next week in Chicago. Ciaran Foy (Citadel) is directing Sinister 2, which Focus Features will release nationwide domestically on Friday, August 21st, 2015. Focus, Entertainment One (eOne), and Blumhouse confirmed key information today.

Scott Derrickson, director of Sinister, has written the Sinister 2 screenplay with C. Robert Cargill; the duo also wrote the original film. eOne is financing Sinister 2. Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who produced the earlier movie, is producing Sinister 2 with Derrickson. Charles Layton, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and eOne's Xavier Marchand and Patrice Theroux are executive producers on Sinister 2.

In the aftermath of the shocking events in Sinister, a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of Wayward Pines) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert Sloan and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves in a rural house marked for death. James Ransone, who portrayed the concerned sheriff's deputy in Sinister, will be reprising his character in Sinister 2.

Sinister, which starred Ethan Hawke, was released domestically by Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company, in 2012, and earned over $48 million; the movie's worldwide gross was $82 million.

Focus is additionally the U.S. distributor on Insidious Chapter 3, which is currently in production and which the company is also making with Blumhouse and eOne.