You can't get words out of the film: the premiere of "Hands Up! 2»

The story of "Hands Up!" returns to the big screens on October 15th. The audience is waiting for unexpected plot twists and songs familiar to several generations. In the meantime, there are only a few days left before wide distribution, on October 6, the secular premiere of the film took place in Moscow. Izvestia was among the first guests and found out what to expect from the sequel.

What is "Hands Up! 2»

In 2024, "Hands Up!" became the first box office biopic about a Russian pop group. With a budget of 421.1 million rubles, the picture showed fees of almost a billion, which undoubtedly paved the way for future projects. Probably inspired by the success, Sergei Zhukov announced plans to shoot a sequel almost immediately after the premiere. On October 6, 2026, he presented the second part of the story at the October Cinema, where he came with his family.

This doesn't happen very often with biopics, and not only in the Russian box office. Relatively recently, it became known that the movie "Michael" will be continued. However, Zhukov was ahead of the creators of the Jackson film in this sense. Shooting "Hands Up! 2" launched in May 2026, and in October, the sequel to the musical biopic is being prepared for release. The new film will once again present the biography of Sergei Zhukov to the audience and show what was behind the artist's rare success in Russian show business. This time, the action will take place not in the past, but in the present: Sergey Zhukov tells the children about his youth, returning to the events of those years.

— This is a story about values. About how a person survives, does not lose himself, having lost all his most precious things. The film is about how to stay not a mean person, honest and frank with yourself," the director of the film, Alisa Shitikova, told Izvestia. — I won't call the second part a continuation of the first, but rather an expansion of the story. The picture is characterized by great psychologism and emotionality. The drama of the plot dictates an additional thrill. Of course, there was some fiction in the film, but we recreated more than we imagined. The bet is on sincerity and reliability.

The 115-minute film will cover two decades — not only the dashing 90s, but also the bright noughties. The film used videos from Sergey Zhukov's personal archive. They show tours and creative moments that were once captured on a VHS camera.

— There are certainly differences between the present and the eras of the 90s and the noughties, and I really wanted to remember, — said Shitikova. — A lot has happened since technology has moved forward. Back then, the guys didn't have a selfie camera on their phone, which is at hand every second today. These are completely different brains, people then communicated in a different way, even with the image of themselves.

The voice of generations

In the sequel, Vlad Prokhorov returned to the role of young Sergei Zhukov. Once, at a casting, he beat more than 1,200 competitors to get the coveted role.

— Sergey Zhukov is the voice of generations. But for me, he is the father of a large family who knows how to love, raise and support children. He didn't just let me play him. I admire him," the actor said in a conversation with Izvestia. — When we see a person who has achieved something, we think: "Everything happened to him by itself, he was lucky." But no one understands that this is a huge amount of work. The man did not sleep, did not have time to devote as much time to his family as others do. He had to go on tour, shoot music videos and write songs.

Prokhorov himself, being an artist, knows about the difficult schedule firsthand: he came straight from the set to the red carpet. However, before going to the press, he still managed to have a few words with Sergey Zhukov.

— I didn't have any personal communication in the process of preparing for filming this film, maybe for the best. We are working on three-dimensional and large-scale artistic images. Sometimes the introduction of authenticity only spoils the fragile artistic canvas," said Ilya Rus, the performer of the role of Alexei Potekhin in his youth. — Before filming, they soaked in the music, fashion and cinema of the late 90s and early noughties. We have studied a lot of materials. I was still in high school in the noughties. For me, this is a time of great freedom and opportunity. Thousands of roads were open. In my opinion, the noughties and the 10th are the most cloudless years in the history of Russia.

Music in "Hands Up! 2" helps not only to tell the personal story of Sergei Zhukov, but also to convey the atmosphere of the time. Therefore, familiar songs become part of the narrative here. At the premiere, the film crew went on stage to "I'm already 18." The audience's reaction was instantaneous — the audience sang along in unison, and some even danced.

— Let's enjoy the second part first, and who knows what will happen next, — said Sergey Zhukov, greeting the first audience from the stage and possibly hinting at a sequel.

The second part of the biopic will be released in theaters on October 15th. This means that very soon the audience will be able to have their say on whether there should be a sequel. This time, the premiere is timed to coincide with two round dates at once: in 2026, the Hands Up! group turns 30, and Sergei Zhukov turns 50.