Filming began in April 2014 at the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort. It was released the following year on April 17, 2015. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was the first film shot at the resort. It was also the first film to receive Nevada's film tax credit, enacted in 2013, netting the production a $4.3 million return on expenditures. The film was panned by critics and grossed $108 million worldwide at the box office.
Plot
Following the events of the first film, Paul Blart is recovering from several misfortunes. His wife Amy divorced him six days into their marriage, and two years later, his mother was killed after being hit by a milk truck. To feel better, Paul takes pride in patrolling the mall. Four years later, as Blart says he has "officially peaked", he receives an invitation to a security officers' convention in Las Vegas and begins to believe his luck is about to change. His daughter, Maya, discovers that she was accepted into UCLA and plans to move across the country to Los Angeles, but in light of her father's invitation, she decides to withhold the information for now.
After arriving in Las Vegas, Paul and his daughter meet the general manager of his hotel, a pretty young woman named Divina Martinez, whom Paul is instantly attracted to. He later learns that she's dating the hotel's head of security, Eduardo Furtillo. Meanwhile, Maya falls in love with the hotel's valet, Lane. A security guard from the Mall of America attending the convention, Donna Ericone, is aware of Paul's earlier heroics in the West Orange Pavilion Mall incident and believes Paul will be the likely keynote speaker at the event. However, Paul discovers that another security guard, Nick Panero, is giving the speech.
In the midst of the convention, a criminal named Vincent Sofel and a gang of accomplices disguised as hotel employees are secretly plotting to steal priceless works of art from the hotel and replace them with replicas, then sell the real ones at auction. In the meantime, Paul has become overprotective of Maya after discovering her flirting with Lane and spies on their conversations. He is later mocked by Eduardo for his lack of professionalism in an event where hotel security was notified when Maya turns up missing. In an ensuing argument with her father, Maya becomes upset and claims she's attending UCLA despite Paul's wishes that she remain close to home at a junior college.
At the convention, Paul, Donna, and three other security guards, Saul Gundermutt, Khan Mubi, and Gino Chizetti check out the non-lethal security equipment on display. Paul finds Nick drunkenly hitting on a woman at the bar. Paul attempts to defuse the situation and Nick passes out, giving Paul a chance to be the event's speaker. Later, Paul takes a break in The Garden Of Contemplation, only to face off against a bird while a man playing piano watches. Following the speech, Paul learns about Maya and Lane's situation and rushes to help but abruptly collapses due to his hypoglycemia that has plagued him for years.
After recovering, Paul is able to take down several of Vincent's thugs and gathers intel on the group's intentions. Using non-lethal equipment from the convention, he is able to take out more of Vincent's crew. Meanwhile, Maya and Lane overhear Vincent adamantly refusing an oatmeal cookie due to a severe oatmeal allergy, leading to said cookie being thrown from a window. Working with a team – Donna, Saul, Khan, and Gino – Paul is able to clumsily dismantle Vincent's operation, with Maya severely incapacitating Vincent by rubbing oatmeal-infused concealer on his face and Paul finishing Vincent off with an extremely forceful headbutt. Afterward, Paul convinces Divina to be with Eduardo. He also accepts Maya going to UCLA, funding her tuition with the reward he obtained from Steve Wynn for stopping Vincent. After dropping off Maya at UCLA, Paul falls for a mounted police officer who reciprocates his advances, but her horse reflexively kicks him into the side of a car.
On March 14, 2014, the Nevada Film Office announced that Sony Pictures had been awarded the first certificate of eligibility for a new tax credit enacted in 2013, in regard to the filming of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.[20][21] Nevada Film Office Director, Eric Preiss, indicated that the production would get $4.3 million in tax credits based on the proposal in their application.[22] The film was initially greenlit with a $45–50 million production budget, but after Kevin James agreed to take a paycut the final figure came in at around $38 million.[23] On April 2, 2014, Columbia Pictures announced that the film would be released on April 17, 2015.[24]
Filming
The Wynn building, where the entire film was shot
In an October 2012 interview, James said that he liked the idea of filming the sequel at the Mall of America.[25]Principal photography commenced on April 21, 2014, at Wynn Las Vegas, and ended on June 26, 2014.[26][27][28] It is the first time that Steve Wynn has allowed a commercial film to be shot at this property. A Wynn representative cited publicity for the resort, as well as "mutually beneficial circumstances" between the hotel and Sony Pictures as rationale for approving the project.[29] For the only scene involving the West Orange Pavilion Mall (shown at the beginning of the film), the only exterior shot of the mall is deleted stock footage of the Burlington Mall taken from the first film, while all interior shots were filmed in Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
Release
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was released by Columbia Pictures in the United States on April 17, 2015.[24] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 14, 2015.[30]
Reception
Box office
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 grossed $71 million in North America and $36.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $107.5 million, against a production budget of $38 million.[5]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $23.8 million, finishing second at the box office behind Furious 7 ($29.2 million).[31]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has a rating of 7% based on 62 reviews and an average rating of 3.00/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bathed in flop sweat and bereft of purpose, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 strings together fat-shaming humor and Segway sight gags with uniformly unfunny results."[32] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 13 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[34][35]
Sara Stewart of the New York Post gave the film one out of four stars and wrote that the plot is "just an excuse for James to do his one trick over and over: Bluster, then screw up humiliatingly".[36] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "James tries hard, very hard, to inject the proceedings with slapstick humor, propelling his large body through endless physical contortions in a fruitless effort for laughs."[37]Justin Chang of Variety called it a "tacky, numbingly inane sequel".[38]
In rating the film zero stars, Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com wrote, "Truly, there is not a single redeeming moment in director Andy Fickman's film. A general flatness and lethargy permeate these reheated proceedings."[39] Kevin P. Sullivan of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D and called it "far from the worst movie that you'll ever see", though he wondered why people would bother watching it.[40] Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film a half a star out of four, saying: "Caddyshack 2. Exorcist 2. Speed 2. To this small sample of the ever-expanding list of wretched movie sequels, add Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, a gobsmackingly witless excuse for entertainment."[41] Andy Webster of The New York Times described the film as inoffensive but familiar.[42]
In 2023, playwright Alan Talaga produced Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness at the Broom Street Theater in Madison, Wisconsin.[44] This new take on the series, only marginally connected to the preceding films, imagines Blart as a Mad Max style hero in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Kevin James and either his Segway or his glued-on mustache
Nominated
Possible sequel
In January 2022, James expressed interest in making a third film, but stated that a script had not yet been developed.[47] Co-star Lauren Ash has also expressed interest in doing a sequel.[48]
