Sequels are once again releasing in large numbers next year, with 21 total, including some major franchise reboots and continuations...
On January 20, Screen Gems returns its' famous supernatural horror franchise with Underworld: Awakening. Releasing about a decade after the last film, its' questionable whether that a long lapse of time will help it get high numbers or not. A few weeks later, families get a new 3-D treat with action adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (February 10), which releases three years after Journey to the Center of the Earth grossed $100 million domestically and $230 million worldwide. Right now, its' status is also questionable as it has to compete against more competition that weekend and the following weekend.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance also releases in February (17th), but much like Underworld, its' questionable whether it can succeed or not since the first movie wasn't a huge success. The next month, Wrath of the Titans (March 30) releases two years after Clash of the Titans grossed $165 million domestic and $400 million worldwide. But that film wasn't well-recieved by audiences and critics, so it can be expected that this films' total gross will fall short of its' predecessor.
The first weekend of April (6th) brings back the cast of American Pie for American Reunion, which could do okay business through nostalgia of the original Pie movies. While not necessarily a sequel, The Avengers (May 4) brings together all of Marvel's superheroes (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America) and is almost certainly the safest bet among all the so-called sequels. Memorial Day Weekend brings Men in Black III (May 25), which arrives 10 years after Men in Black II, and while those films have a huge fanbase, its' tough to imagine this restoring its' former glory, since it is a long lapse of time, though it should be able to capitalize on the extended weekend.
June (8th) brings animated threequel Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, which hopes to end the DreamWorks Animation slump as it arrives three and a half years after Escape 2 Africa ($180 million domestic, $600 million worldwide). I will discuss more about this film later, but for now, its' sure to be a huge worldwide hit, even if it falls short of its' two predecessors' grosses. At the end of that month (June 29), G.I. Joe Retaliation gets a nice bump over the 4th of July, and while the first G.I. Joe was a success, there is more competition coming in the next couple weeks after, which may make it a challenge for it to succeed.
Four more sequels debut over July. First, The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3) is hoping to replicate the successes of the first three Spider-Man films. But, the new film acts as a prequel and it isn't highly anticipated, so, its' chances for success are questionable. The next week, animated fourquel Ice Age: Continental Drift (July 13) makes its' debut, and is looking to get an even higher gross compared to the first three, something that could happen since its' been in promotion through Scrat shorts shown in 20th Century Fox films this year. But the following weekend, all of the releases will likely get zapped by the years' highest-anticipated movie, The Dark Knight Rises (July 20). The conclusion to Christopher Nolan's three-part Batman trilogy looks to try and take the opening weekend record from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, which is very much possible, if it can get an extensive promotional campaign. Lastly and least, Step Up 4 (July 27) follows two years after Step Up 3-D got served by falling short of its' predecessors at just $42 million domestic, but over $100 million worldwide. No 3-D treatment this time guarantees that this installment will likely make this the lowest-grossing and last installment in the franchise.
Two major sequels go head to head on the first weekend of August (3rd). Family threequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days arrives a year and a half after Rodrick Rules opened higher than its' predecessor, but was more front-loaded and wound up behind it by about $10 million. Being the latest and best-selling of the book series plus the advantage of opening in the Summer rather than the Spring, and Dog Days should be able to at least reach Rodrick's $53 million gross. Four years after The Bourne Ultimatum earned a huge $69.3 million on its' debut and ended up with nearly $230 million domestic and $450 million worldwide, The Bourne Legacy hopes to continue that winning streak in the Jason Bourne film series. But unlike its' predecessors, this is an entirely new idea, compared to the predecessors being based on the novels. That is a risky move, but little competition should allow this to pull decent numbers, but it will be lucky to carry half of what Ultimatum did.
The Expendables 2 (August 17) comes roaring into theaters two weeks later, following on the heels of The Expendables, which was a success with a $34 million opening and $100 million finish. That film has an avid fanbase, and the entire cast has returned for this second murdering. Being the only other action choice for adults, this could be able to come close to its' predecessors' gross. September brings in a five-quel, Resident Evil: Retribution (September 14), which hopes to replicate the success of Afterlife, which set a franchise-best with a $26 million start and a $60 million finish. Unless if it is released in 3-D like the other film, this might not keep the winning streak up, since there are so many other Halloween movies releasing within the next month. October brings back Liam Neeson in Taken 2 (October 5), which hopes to replicate the success of the first Taken, which earned $144 million after just a $30 million opening back four years ago. Sequels usually are more front-loaded, so its' chances at beating its' predecessor are very low.
Halloween 3-D (October 26) arrives on the weekend of the holiday itself as the third film in the horror franchise adds the third dimension. Obviously, being horror films and having just one weekend to its' audience, it will be extremely front-loaded, and may not have a chance at beating its' predecessors. November brings super spy James Bond (Daniel Craig)'s latest adventure, Skyfall (November 9). The last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, grossed nearly $600 million worldwide, and was the biggest-grossing film of the franchise. It is questionable right now whether this can beat that films' gross or not, but the character still is very popular, so robust worldwide grosses are likely.
Finally, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II (November 16) looks to not only claim the November record, but try and take the opening weekend record as well. The final part of a famous movie franchise always is the biggest-grossing (for the most part) as all fans have waited for the finale of the supernatural romance. In that case, this film should easily pass the $300 million mark domestically, and perhaps the $1 billion mark worldwide is a definite possibility.
Part III coming tomorrow....
