'Super Troopers 2': Is movie crowdfunding here to stay?

The crew behind the comedy 'Super Troopers' recently started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a sequel and the goal was met within a day. According to those behind the film, their studio said they could distribute 'Super Troopers 2' but that the Broken Lizard comedy group needed to come up with the funds to make the movie themselves.

Another movie has now been funded through a crowdfunding initiative. 

“Super Troopers 2,” a sequel to the popular 2001 comedy, achieved its goal of $2 million in a single day. The campaign took place on the website Indiegogo and according to the website, more than 20,000 people made contributions. 

According to the Indiegogo fundraiser page, the studio behind “Super Troopers 2” greenlit the film and will distribute it in America and Canada, the comedy group Broken Lizard needed to come up with the money by itself.

“The more people who contribute to help make the movie, the better our chances of getting a wide release, and coming to a theater where you can enjoy our new shenanigans in their full, cinematic splendor,” the Broken Lizard group wrote on the Indiegogo page. 

Though the goal has been met, they’re encouraging fans to keep the money coming in. 

“If we could cry, we'd be crying,” the Broken Lizard group wrote after the goal was reached. “Thank you so much. Sincerely. We can make the skinny version of Super Troopers 2, but I think we all want the muscular version, so let's keep going.”

If “Super Troopers 2” is made, it’ll be the newest film to have some of its funding come from a crowdfunding program. One of the biggest stories to come out of crowdfunding movies was the film “Veronica Mars,” which was based on the TV show of the same name starring Kristen Bell that aired from 2004 to 2007. Rob Thomas, creator of the original TV show, and Bell created a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to raise money for a movie and “Mars” was another project that passed its goal, ending up with more than $5 million after an initial goal of $2 million was set. “Mars” debuted in movie theaters and on demand in March 2014 and made $2 million over its opening weekend, which Forbes writer Scott Mendelson called “an unmitigated success for the fans and for the investors,” pointing out that its studio spent little money on advertising.  

For projects like “Mars” and “Troopers,” a crowdfunding initiative proves to studios that the demand is there where studio executives might otherwise doubt. However, some have criticized filmmakers like Zach Braff and Spike Lee, who turned to crowdfunding sites to raise money for their own films. “It's a brilliant idea that's gotten out of hand," ''House of Cards" producer Dana Brunetti said at a SXSW panel discussion, according to the Associated Press. "It's wrong when people like Zach Braff or Spike Lee use that same service to fund their films when they already have access. I think it overshadows and takes away from the little guys who actually need the funding.” 

Either way, contributors to a campaign show demand, and it looks like a lot of people want “Super Troopers 2.”