Superhero Takes On A Pirate And An Ogre
Newcastle Herald
Saturday April 28, 2007
SPIDER-MAN faces off against two brand-spanking new villains in Hunter cinemas from Thursday.
But the heroic web-slinger's fiercest battle will be at the box office, where he will slug it out with two familiar and formidable foes an animated ogre named Shrek and a scallywag pirate called Cap'n Jack Sparrow.Spider-Man 3 is the first blockbuster movie release of the American summer season, when Hollywood studios unleash their mega-budget crowd-pleasers.Over the next five weeks, the third instalments or "threequels" of three of Hollywood's most lucrative movie franchises will battle for dominance at the global box office.Sony Pictures' Spider-Man 3, rated "M" for moderate action violence, opens worldwide on Thursday. Disney's third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, At World's End, opens on May 23 and Paramount's Shrek the Third, on June 7.Other threequels coming soon are George Clooney's third heist caper, Oceans 13, which swaggers into Australian cinemas on June 14; Jackie Chan's action comedy Rush Hour 3, opening August 16; and The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon's third spy thriller, releasing on August 23.Film critics despair that the run of sequels proves Hollywood has officially run out of ideas but Hunter cinema operators are rubbing their hands together in anticipation after a lean start to the year in which only two 2007 releases, Wild Hogs and Mr Bean's Holiday, have topped $15 million at the box office.Nelson Bay Cinema owner Stephen Laws said sequels were safe bets for studios, cinemas and moviegoers."If it works the first time and the people become attached to the characters, they will come back for more," he said yesterday."And sequels are easier to sell because the audience is already there. It harks back to the old movie serials of the 1950s when everyone went to the pictures every week to see the latest chapter."Mr Laws tipped Shrek the Third to beat Spider-Man 3 and Pirates 3 at the box office."Like the other two Shreks, it will have broad appeal and bring in parents and children, as well as teenagers," he said.Greater Union NSW field marketing manager Kristie Atkins is also tipping Shrek to monster its rivals, based on the franchise's previous success.Shrek 2 was Australia's biggest film of 2004, grossing $50.2 million, $18 million more than the first movie in 2002.Ms Atkins said Greater Union would begin selling Shrek the Third tickets on May 17. Pirates 3 bookings would open on Thursday.Ever since the astonishing success of Jaws in the US summer of 1975, big-budget films released over the US summer have become the major drawcards for cinemas, often accounting for as much as 40 per cent of annual movie ticket sales.The No. 1 movie at the Australian box office in 2006 was Depp's second Pirates film, Dead Man's Chest, which opened last July and took $38 million (bettering the original film's $25.5 million).But Spider-Man 2's takings of $24.4 million in 2004 could not top the original film's $31 million gross.THREE'S COMPANYSPIDER-MAN 3 (releasedMay 3): A mysterious blackgoop puts the web-slingerin touch with his dark sideas he faces two new villains,Sandman and Venom.PIRATES OF THECARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'SEND: (May 24) JohnnyDepp returns as Cap?n Jack,with Rolling Stone KeithRichards, who inspiredDepp's pirate swagger,playing his father.SHREK THE THIRD: (June7) Shrek becomes a Dad.OCEANS 13: (June 14)George Clooney's third heistcaper also stars Al Pacino.RUSH HOUR 3: (August 16)More Jackie Chan actioncomedy.THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM(August 23): Matt Damon'sthird mission as amnesiacspy Jason Bourne.MORE OF THE SAME ...Also coming are sequels tozombie thriller 28 Days Later(28 Months Later out May10), comicbook superheroaction flick The FantasticFour (Rise of the SilverSurfer, June 21) and BruceWillis?s Die Hard (Die Hard4.0 August 2), plus HarryPotter and the Order Of thePhoenix (July 12), the fifthfilm about the boy wizard.
© 2007 Newcastle Herald