A direct sequel to a 1974 movie? Who knew? Texas Chainsaw 3D opens the first week of January, hoping to replicate the success of The Devil Inside. Very few people remember that movie (or the much-hated Devil Inside), so expectations right now are quite low.
(Quite a strange teaser poster, huh?) Just when Bruce Willis was getting back in action, he returns with Jai Courtney for the upcoming highly-anticipated fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, A Good Day To Die Hard. The trailers have excited audiences so far, and the Die Hard movies are well-beloved. A good release date (Valentine's Day) plus very little competition, and this sequel should be able to succeed.
There's very little information available right now, but CBS Films is releasing The Last Exorcism 2 on March 1. The first Exorcism was a success two and a half years before with a gross in the mid-40's millions, and with little horror competition in March, it could retain majority of that films' gross.
Call it an original movie, but Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi is bringing the world of The Wizard of Oz back in prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful. So far, Disney has done a great job with the marketing, and there are many fans of the 1939 original today that they will certainly line up for this. However, coming from Raimi and based on the look of the trailers, the prequel could be a bit too intense for younger tykes. Probably the goal here is to replicate the success of Alice in Wonderland from three years ago. And since that had Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, there's almost certainly no way this will live up to that movie's lofty gross ($300 million domestic, $1 billion worldwide). But, with excitement already generating for it, the movie is still well-positioned to cash in, so it wouldn't be surprising if it at least grossed close to $200 million in the U.S. alone.
Just three weeks after Oz (which releases March 8), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (March 29) finally hits theaters after being bumped from its' original date last summer. Personally, I thought the release date move was a good decision, as Joe wouldn't have had a chance against Ted, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises. The film arrives close to four years after The Rise of Cobra was a mild success, earning $160 million domestically and $300 million worldwide. With Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis, and Channing Tatum together in one movie, its' sure to have a large audience. That plus not much competition in April and a prime debut over Easter weekend could guarantee Retaliation a gross in the same range as Cobra with some growth internationally.April brings another horror sequel, Scary Movie 5 (April 19), releasing seven years after Scary Movie 4 earned over $200 million worldwide. However, despite boasting starpower such as Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan and Heather Locklear, a long lapse of time never is a good sign for a sequel. Scary Movie 5 could very well suffer the same fate Scream 4 did two years prior ($40 million finish).
And that leads us to Iron Man 3, which I had discussed yesterday...
Releasing two weeks after Iron Man 3 comes another major sequel, Star Trek into Darkness (May 17), which releases four years after director J.J. Abrams previous Star Trek movie, which earned nearly $400 million worldwide (nearly $260 million of it coming from the U.S.). With added special effects, and already nearly 15 million views of its' trailer on YouTube, it would seem the sequel is well-positioned for at least the same gross internationally. Unfortunately, Star Trek 2 is releasing in between three other major surefire hits, which may cause some audiences to leave this one out in the cold. As a result, I don't think it will live up to its' predecessors' gross. And with an expensive price tag, this may be the last time we see these space-traveling cadets in theaters.
Memorial Day Weekend (May 24) follows, and I've already discussed The Hangover: Part III in the "Heavy Hitters" section...
I'm sure some of you are asking, "Why isn't Fast and the Furious 6 a heavy-hitter?" Well, there's good reason. For one, Fast is competing against Hangover, which will likely guarantee a lower gross than its' predecessor (unless you have $15-$20 worth in tickets, not many people are going to catch both). Regardless, overseas grosses are going to be strong, but this is another example why there's one too many movies in May 2013. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is going to be busy this year after G.I. Joe 2, and Vin Diesel and Gina Carano co-starring will help it. But I'm sounding a bit disparaging here. Regardless, Fast Six is guaranteed to wind up with at least $150 million domestically, possibly more if my expectations are outwitted. And worldwide grosses will tally $500 million or more, certainly enough to guarantee a seventh installment.
I've already covered Man of Steel (which is a reboot/continuation of the Superman franchise) and Monsters University (a prequel, which I will cover more in the Animation section tomorrow).
At the end of June, Kick-*** 2 (June 29) hits theaters, after its' predecessor was a minor success at $50 million. There's some good starpower with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chloe Moretz, and John Leguizamo, but, even though Ted proved that R-rated comedies can open strong on difficult weekends, this one will have stiff competition from two others (Hangover and The End of the World) that may not make this as successful.
I will get into this more in the Animation section, but July 4th weekend will be raided by minions in Despicable Me 2 (July 3). It arrives about three years after its' predecessor was a huge blockbuster, opening to nearly $60 million and finishing with over $250 million, becoming a crowd-pleaser and kid-favorite. With promotion already in full-effect, its' pretty much obvious this will be a huge hit next summer. Unfortunately, the 2013 summer season is more crowded with competition than 2010's, so it probably won't have the legs of its' predecessor.Also returning three years after its' predecessor, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade and Chris Rock return for Grown-Ups 2 (July 12). Its' predecessor was a big hit at over $160 million domestic and nearly $275 million worldwide. There's plenty of starpower (and new cast members including Taylor Lautner, Andy Samberg, and David Henrie), and it seems like Sandler is one of the only bankable stars in Hollywood. Plus, this one will likely have a PG-13 rating, and in a Summer that mainly has R-rated comedies, this could take in younger teens on up. But, we need to remember that Sandler's movies are usually critically hated, so I don't think this will quite hit its' predecessors' gross, but at least come close.
Just two years after X-Men: First Class hit the low bar for the franchise, Hugh Jackman returns in spin-off The Wolverine (July 26). The character appeared four years before in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which did a franchise-best $187 million. With Jackman being a big star (due to his potential Oscar nom in Les Miserables) and the popularity of the Wolverine character, there's a good chance this could break out. However, competition will be strong over the following week, so it probably won't reach its' predecessors' final gross, but it should at least beat First Class' $155 million final gross.
With its' international setting, the film should perform even stronger overseas.
Five days later, and I will cover this more in the "Animation" section, the cute blue creatures return in The Smurfs 2, which has been fast-tracked for a release just two years after its' predecessor. While not grossing as much as Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Smurfs was a worldwide hit with $550 million worldwide ($145 million of it coming from the U.S.) However, with a large number of family flicks coming to theaters during the summer, this could either match its' predecessor or fall way short of its' domestic gross. But as long as there's international popularity, it should do just fine.The weekend of The Smurfs 2's release (it comes out on July 31, while these two release on August 2) come two more sequels (the first is actually a prequel), 300: Rise of an Empire and RED 2. 300 should ultimately be the victor, as its' predecessor was a $450+ million worldwide grosser. The only difference, its' without Gerard Butler and director Zack Snyder (who is producing). There's a good chance this one could do fine, but in a crowded summer, who knows? The same goes for RED 2 on a smaller scale, which reunites Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bruce Willis among others. As being a comic book adaptation, the first RED was a decent-sized hit, grossing nearly $100 million domestically and about $200 million worldwide. With the summer release date and the first one being well-received, there's a strong chance this could either match or improve from its' predecessor (as there's not much competition for older audiences).
Technically serving as a spin-off to Pixar's Cars, Planes was set for theatrical release recently (August 9). Disney will certainly give it a promotional boost, and not much competition by that time for younger children should guarantee a minor-level success run, but it will be inconsequential to the rest of Summer 2013's other films. I will cover this more in the Animation section. Also debuting in August (16) three and a half years after its' predecessor is Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. The first Percy Jackson was a minor success, at nearly $90 million domestic and $220 million worldwide. August is usually a dump zone for family movies, but Percy Jackson could still be a minor hit if it can take advantage of older kids.
Insidious Chapter 2 is another horror sequel hitting theaters (August 30), hitting theaters over two years after its' predecessor was a surprise hit at over $50 million, being leggy for a horror flick. Despite that movie's generally rave reception, its' competing another horror flick that day, and unless something changes, it could be in a losing situation.
I'll cover this in the next section, but September brings animated sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (September 27), which arrives four years after its' predecessor bagged $125 million domestic and over $300 million worldwide. With very little competition in the Fall season, there's an off chance audiences buy into this sequel as well. October brings the much-anticipated Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (October 4), releasing eight years after the original Sin City, which earned $75 million domestic and was well-received. Unfortunately, its' been too long of a lapse of time, and in a way, Sin City 2's position is similar to director Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids: All The Time in the World, which was a bit of a disappointment and only earning around one-third of its' predecessor. With it being anticipated in a select group, Sin City 2 should fare a bit better, but it won't do enough to guarantee a third installment.
Very little information is known, but Paramount has set Paranormal Activity 5 for October 18, one year after its' predecessor. Unless this one really excites people, I don't see it beating 4's $53 million final gross. But these things come cheap, so it wouldn't be surprising if a sixth installment followed.
November brings a couple of high-profile sequels. I've already covered The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, so I will focus on the other one, Thor: The Dark World. Arriving two-and-a-half years after Thor was a decent hit, at $180 million domestic and over $400 million worldwide. While not living up to other Marvel films, The Avengers has caused a rush of fanbase for all heroes, and it wouldn't be surprising if Thor 2 did improve from its' predecessor, but I wouldn't consider it a heavy-hitter.
I've already covered The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug in the Heavy-Hitters section...
The final sequel of 2012 arrives on December 20, Will Ferrell returns in Anchorman: The Legend Continues, which arrives nine years after Anchorman. That film earned $85 million against a $25 million budget, and was well-received by critics and audiences, as well as the first major hit for producer Judd Apatow. Apatow is working on this one too, and with him and Ferrell, plus little competition over the Christmas season, and this should at least retain majority of its' predecessors' gross.
