Viral 'Smile 2' Promotion Returns at NLCS Game 2 Between Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets

With the new horror movie "Smile 2" set to open nationwide next weekend, the studio sent creepy plants to sit behind home plate at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

Two fans stand behind home plate at Game 2 of the NLCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets at Dodger Stadium, promoting the movie "Smile 2" on Monday, October 14, 2024. / MLB on FOX

Two years ago, many baseball fans were perplexed by some odd-looking fans when they turned on their TVs.

People wearing bright-colored shirts were sitting behind home plate at multiple games across the country, staring directly into the main broadcast camera in the outfield. They smiled ear-to-ear and didn't flinch the entire game, not moving from their seats at Yankee Stadium, the Oakland Coliseum and Dodger Stadium.

As it turned out, it was a viral promotion stunt for the horror movie "Smile," which was one week away from releasing in theaters nationwide.

Now, with "Smile 2" set to come out on Oct. 18, the creepy fans are back.

The New York Mets were in town for Game 2 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, pitting two of the highest-paid rosters and most valuable franchises against each other in the postseason. Paramount, the studio behind the "Smile" movies, took advantage of the big-time playoff matchup and sent in more plants to promote their new film.

A man and a woman wearing highlighter yellow t-shirts were in the second row, once again drawing attention from plenty of fans watching at home with their constant smiles.

That's fine, I wasn't planning to sleep tonight anyway. pic.twitter.com/XTj7YpKwVq

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 14, 2024

One of the actors actually broke character in the eighth inning, when Max Muncy fouled off a fastball from Ryne Stanek. The man ducked for cover as the regular fans around him reached up to try and snag a souvenir, temporarily ditching the unsettling persona.

His partner did not flinch, continuing to stare straight forward with a smile.

One of the creepy smiling people for ‘SMILE 2’ broke character at yesterday’s Dodgers vs. Mets game. pic.twitter.com/CnesmOy7Mi

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 15, 2024

The first "Smile" movie made $22.6 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. It went on to gross $217.4 million worldwide, all on a production budget of $17 million.

Paramount surely had to spend a big chunk of its "Smile 2" marketing budget to buy up a couple of prime seats at Game 1 of the NLCS, and it remains to be seen if the strategy will pay off the way it did the first time.

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