The companies behind the latest big-screen adaptation from C. S. Lewis' classic book series hope the film will perform a different kind of miracle: revive a stalled franchise.
Producers Walden Media and 20th Century Fox believe the third Narnia picture can reclaim the fans who embraced 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but were turned off by the darker 2008 sequel, Prince Caspian, whose comparatively poor performance raised doubts about the series' future.
"We strayed from our core audience," said Mark Johnson, who has produced all three Narnia movies. In trying - and largely failing - to attract more teens, he said, the Prince Caspian movie might have alienated families.
The producers hope the 3-D Dawn Treader will win them back.
The first Narnia film took $US745 million (NZ$987 million) worldwide. But the second instalment, which cost much more than its predecessor, generated 43% less at the box office.
Billionaire investor Philip Anschutz, whose film company Walden Media is committed to producing traditional family entertainment and controls the movie rights to all seven Narnia novels, wasn't about to abandon the allegorical Christian books that appeal to faith-based and general audiences alike.
Walden joined forces with Fox, and together they substantially downsized the Dawn Treader production budget and revised its story to emphasise the fantasy and adventure elements and lighter tone that distinguished the first blockbuster.
"This franchise is obviously very important to us," said David Weil, chief executive of Walden parent Anschutz Film Group. "This is a story of temptation, transformation, redemption and grace in a way that you are immersed in a world of magic and wonder. It's an all-audience movie and a return to the first one."
The story for Dawn Treader, which is the name of Caspian's sailing ship, centres on the adventures of siblings Edmund and Lucy Pevensie and their ill-tempered cousin, Eustace. The trio are transported back to the mythical land of Narnia, where they join Caspian on a voyage to mysterious islands. Along their journey, the three children must resist temptation, including pride, envy and greed, as they confront a variety of creatures, culminating in an epic battle against a massive sea serpent.
Unlike Prince Caspian, which was a more serious and warlike drama, Dawn Treader, directed by Michael Apted, is intended to be accessible to a wider swath of ticket buyers.
Prince Caspian was shot in New Zealand, England, the Czech Republic and Poland over 140 days and cost $US240 million. Dawn Treader, on the other hand, cost about $US155 million and was almost exclusively filmed in Australia over 90 days, mostly on sound stages rather than costlierfar-flung locations.
And rather than shooting on the ocean, which can be costly, the crew built a 140-foot, 125-ton vessel that was suspended over the Coral Sea on a motion-controlled device to simulate high-seas sailing. Visual effects for Prince Caspian cost $US100 million, while the effects budget for Dawn Treader was less than half that.
The film's marketing targets faith-based fans that helped make The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a blockbuster.
The next potential Narnia movie is likely to be The Silver Chair.
