Four film franchises. One decade. More than $US10 billion
worth of theatre tickets sold. Can you top that? Possibly,
reports Geoff Boucher, of the Los Angeles Times.
In their best moments, The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man,
X-Men and Pirates of the Caribbean movies have
delivered unforgettable adventure and escapism for audiences.
Now, though, with the decade winding down and all four
franchises sitting as nice, tidy trilogies, the question must
be asked: Isn't three the magic number?
Do we really need a fourth movie from any of these ageing
popcorn enterprises?
The answer (in Hollywood, at least) is, of course, yes, but
each franchise faces unique challenges...
Click photo to enlarge
Scene from 'Spider-Man 2'.
SPIDER-MAN
The story so far: Not that long ago, the standard
assumption in Hollywood was that there were only two
superheroes with enough general-audience appeal to carry a
film franchise - Superman and Batman. That changed in May
2002, when Spider-Man swung into theatres and grabbed
$US115 million ($NZ155 million) domestically in its opening
weekend, a record at the time.
Unlike the majestic Man of Steel of Metropolis or the
handsome billionaire prowling Gotham, this hero was a
high-school nerd bitten by a bug. Not only did he fight
villains, he had to contend with homework, money problems and
a losing streak with girls.
The franchise, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey
Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, has continued to soar commercially
- Spider-Man 3 in May 2007 again set the mark for the
biggest US opening weekend with $151 million (although 2008's
The Dark Knight edged it with $158 million).
The challenge: A fourth Spider-Man film is a
no-brainer for Sony - the web-slinger movies rank as the
three highest-grossing films in the studio's history. But
while the first two films were widely praised for their verve
and heart, the third struck many viewers as noisy, hollow and
disjointed.
The fourth movie has other challenges. How many other ways
can the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane
Watson be bent without totally losing its shape? What villain
left on the list can connect with a wide audience?
The status: In May, Raimi said that filming on the
fourth film will start in February. He has regrets not just
about the third film, but all of them.
"What would I have done differently? I would have done
everything differently, every single shot, I think, in every
picture that I've ever made. Everything that I've done
torments me."
X-MEN
The story so far: With the triumph of comic-book
properties in Hollywood today, it's easy to forget how
startling Bryan Singer's X-Men was when it arrived in
2000.
Sleek, sophisticated and respectful of its source material,
the Fox film ran counter to the then-standard approach of
turning comic-book adaptations into smirking cartoons that
insulted loyal fans of the properties.
The $75 million film made $296 million in worldwide box
office.
The sequel X2: X-Men United arrived as one of the most
anticipated releases of 2003 and finished with $408 million
worldwide and better reviews than the first one.
Singer left the franchise to take on Superman Returns,
so Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) was brought in for the
third movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, which rolled up
$459 million at the box office but suffered withering
reviews.
The challenge: The fact that the franchise's central
hero, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, above), was spun off into a
lone-wolf film in 2009 suggested that the Marvel mutant team
might be akin to an ageing band that just watched its lead
singer launch a solo tour.
But in September, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, a key figure
in the franchise, said that a fourth X-Men film
remains viable and, more than that, there are efforts moving
toward that goal, although they are in very early stages.
The status: Amid all the noise, the most interesting
tidbit in recent months was the August report in
Variety that Singer was flirting with the idea of
directing X-Men: First Class, which would be a prequel
based on the popular comic-book series and the draft script
by The O. C. creator Josh Schwartz.
Later, Donner publicly stated that First Class is not
the likely next film, but the linkage of Singer to any Marvel
mutant is big news - and may signal an effort to have him
back in X-business.
