Will There be a Fourth Installment in Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot Series?

Kenneth Branagh recently released his third movie based on Agatha Christie’s legendary detective, Hercule Poirot. A Haunting in Venice dropped in September 2023, and received a strong critical response from Film Threat. It fits the pattern of the previous two offerings, with a strong ensemble cast and an intriguing mystery for Branagh’s lead character to solve.

Despite being met with critical acclaim, the latest offering was the lowest-performing installment of the series at the box office. Does that mean that a fourth offering is unlikely, or will the series continue with another adaptation of one Christie’s classic novels?

Subsequent Movies Not as Successful as the First

The latest Poirot brought in $122 million at the box office, making it slightly inferior to the previous year’s Death on the Nile. That picture earned $137 million at the box office but was nowhere near its predecessor. The first Branagh outing as the Belgian detective raked in a whopping $351 million worldwide, making it an incredible success.

Murder on the Orient Express did have a lot working in its favor, though. It’s easily one of the most famous books in the sprawling Christie catalog, meaning that mainstream audiences have heard of it. Indeed, it’s been adapted in various ways over the years, including another film in 1974 and television series in a range of languages.

The 1934 mystery novel has even been transformed into games, with a point-and-click offering for Windows in 2006. More recently, Yggdrasil released the Orient Express slot game, which stands out for its intriguing artwork that reflects the intrigue of the book. The title can be found in a jampacked slots list, alongside LuckyDays jackpot slots such as Dr Fortuno and Elysian Jackpots. All these titles have huge thumbnails and rich graphics, making it easy for players to spot the ones that appeal to them and are demonstrative of public interest in media like Poirot and works by Agatha Christie.

Fourth Picture Has Already Been Teased

Despite the decline in box office figures across the three movies, these Branagh offerings have been profitable for 20th Century Studios due to their relatively low production costs. As noted here at Film Threat they have generally been great translations to the screen as well. Therefore, it makes sense to make a fourth film. According to recent reports, producer James Prichard has hinted that there will be another installment in the series, but he didn’t confirm which book would be taken to the screen.

There’s some speculation that the next offering could be The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which is regarded as one of the greatest Poirot adventures. Even though the 1926 novel is considered by some to be the best crime novel of all time, it has only been adapted into a film once.

It’s looking likely that there will be at least one more film in Branagh’s Poirot franchise. There’s no doubt that the director loves playing the character, and there’s a vast amount of source material that he could explore in the future.