OK, so my three kids are HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL crazy (and I admit, I don't mind singing along sometimes), and they've announced that the second sequel, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3, will be released in theaters, not premiere on the Disney Channel.

Has this ever happened before? A sequel to a TV movie getting a wide theatrical release? I feel like I'm not racking my brain enough, but none jump to mind.

The Star Trek movies?
Hey, they had the same cast as the TV show, so I think it counts. It's just that the process is much quicker these days because if they waited ten years with the HSM cast, it'll be POST-DOCTORAL MUSICAL. :D

Also, vaguely similar is the fact that Michael Mann's HEAT (1995) was a remake of his own TV movie, L.A. TAKEDOWN (1989) with Al Pacino in the Scott Plank(!) role (well his acting was wooden) and Robert De Niro taking over for Alex McArthur.

Well, if STAR TREK was a TV movie first (not a series), then a movie... that's what I'm talking about.

Yeah, I can't think of anything that really fits that definition. I can think of lots of TV shows that jumped to film, but not a TV movie.

The closest I can come up with is the animated LOTR, which was released theatrically after the made-for-TV animated movie The Hobbit. Or maybe Dr. No, which was released after a TV adaptation of Casino Royale. However, both of those were based on existing novel series, and the TV and film productions had little to no ties to each other.

It's not that surprising that this isn't that common an occurrence. Considering that sequels typically see diminishing returns, it'd take something with really overwhelming popularity to catapult it from TV movie to theatrical sequel.

Close but no cigar, but I thought I'd throw it in: the January 08 release CITY OF MEN, which follows up a Brazilian TV series based on the hit movie CITY OF GOD. It uses flashbacks from the show to acquaint those of us who'd never seen the program (which airs on the Sundance Channel).