Drac’s Back! ‘Hotel Transylvania 4’ Coming in 2021

Who would have though an animated film about all your favorite monsters led by an Adam Sandler voiced Dracula would spawn four films over the span of nearly a decade? Not this guy. But that’s exactly what’s happening with the Sony Pictures Animation’s announcement of Hotel Transylvania 4.

Deadline has reported that the fourth film in the $1.3 billion-grossing franchise will open on Wednesday, December 22, 2021.

If the announcement of a fourth film is surprising, you have to look at the numbers associated with the films. With each installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, Sony Pictures has seen huge gains. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation was released last summer and opened #1 at the box office in multiple countries passing the $100 million mark domestically in the first two weeks. The film would go on to become Sony Pictures’ highest grossing animated film of all time bringing in more than $528M worldwide beating out Hotel Transylvania 2, which previously held the title with a global box office of $474.8M.

The plot details for the fourth film have not been revealed, but with a late December release it makes me wonder if somehow the film will be tied to the holidays or winter. The first two films are basic monster comedies at their core and were released in the fall, just in time for Halloween. The third film, Summer Vacation was released in July, fitting for the film’s title and theme, so it would only make sense if the timing of this release somehow ties into the film’s themes.