With a worldwide box office total that now stands at $149 million, nobody can argue that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water has been a resounding success for Paramount Pictures and its new animation division Paramount Animation, both critically and commercially.

So it’s not particularly surprising that according to a pair of interviews that were conducted last week (one for TheWrap and one for The Hollywood Reporter), Paramount already has the word ‘sequel’ in its head regarding the film.

Megan Collison, president of worldwide distribution and marketing for Paramount, was quick to tell TheWrap that while nothing is officially set in stone just yet, she did call it “a good bet”. Collison went on to praise Nickelodeon for its management of the SpongeBob brand and how that contributed to the film’s success. “They’ve taken a TV show that people love and infiltrated it into the culture so many ways you don’t even notice, like even some of Katy Perry’s looks, and I think we benefited from that,” said Collison.

Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount, also had this to say about how well the film did: “In the U.S., the movie definitely has multi-generational appeal. It did a lot of business at night. And overseas, you can see how much the brand has grown”.

When asked about a third film, Moore simply replied: “Hopefully, it won’t take 10 years to make another film”.

The next film from Paramount Animation will be Monster Trucks, set for a Christmas Day 2015 release.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water still has a long life ahead at the box office, but don’t be surprised if Paramount eventually gives the green-light to a third film (now all but a safe bet).

What do you think? Are you surprised by this news at all? In your opinion, is a third film warranted?

Edited by Kelly Conley