vstudios' bet on sequels is paying off.
Debuts of ``Shrek the Third'' and ``Spider-Man 3'' both exceeded $100 million, the first time more than one film has topped that sum in a four-week period, according to Media By Numbers LLC. They are among eight films to reach the mark.
Walt Disney Co.'s ``Pirates,'' opening tonight, is among 14 sequels rolling out this summer. ``Spider-Man 3'' debuted May 4 at 4,252 cinemas, the most ever, and collected a three-day record of $151 million. ``Shrek the Third'' opened in 4,122 locations and had the biggest debut for an animated film at $122 million. ``Pirates'' will be in more than 4,000 theaters.
``They're just saturating the marketplace in the first week,'' Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, said in an interview. ``You need to make your mark before the audience migrates to the next blockbuster.''
The sequel strategy has lifted overall sales as it has broken records. As of May 20, ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada were up 6.6 percent to $3.28 billion from a year earlier, according to Media By Numbers, based in Encino, California. Studios were helped by ticket prices that rose 3.7 percent to an average of $6.79.
Other sequels this summer include Time Warner Inc.'s ``Ocean's Thirteen,'' which opens June 8; News Corp.'s ``Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer'' on June 15; and Universal Pictures' ``Evan Almighty'' on June 22. ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' also from Time Warner, the world's biggest media company, begins showing July 13.
Big Hits
``We're witnessing a renaissance in the movie business,'' said Paul Kagan, chief executive officer of market researcher PK Worldmedia Inc. in Carmel, California. ``It's a robust business for big hits.''
``Pirates,'' made for about $225 million, returns Johnny Depp in the role of ne'er-do-well sea captain Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley co-star as his partners.
In the film, their pirate lifestyle is threatened by the expanding East India Trading Co. The characters get caught up in a quest to cajole the world's pirate clans to join a battle against the company and a British naval armada.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Depp's inspiration for his character, appears in a cameo role as Sparrow's father. The role is Richards's first in a feature film.
Thursday Factor
``Pirates'' will play in about 1,100 theaters tonight before expanding for the U.S. Memorial Day weekend, with each theater showing the film on an average of about three screens, according to Internet ticket seller Fandango Inc.
The first two films in the series had sales of $1.72 billion worldwide for Disney, the world's second-largest media company, and Depp has said he is interested in another sequel. The ending leaves open that possibility. Sony Corp. and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., led by Jeffrey Katzenberg, have said they want to make sequels to ``Spider-Man'' and ``Shrek.''
``A fourth film in each of these series will be good if the studios stay true to the principles of the franchise,'' Kagan said. ``They can't lose if it's done right.''
Thursday shows of ``Pirates'' and competition from ``Spider- Man'' and ``Shrek'' may prevent the film from setting a new three-day record, said Gitesh Pandya, editor of Box Office Guru.com. Thursday Sales won't count toward the weekend total.
Ticket sales that fail to ``handily top $100 million'' would be a disappointment to investors, said Tuna Amobi, a Standard & Poor's analyst in New York, who rates Disney shares ``strong buy'' and doesn't own them.
Sailing Past?
The four-day Memorial Day weekend record of $122.9 million was set last year by News Corp.'s ``X-Men: The Last Stand,'' according to Media By Numbers.
Ultimately, ``Pirates'' will surpass ``Spider-Man 3'' in total sales, Pandya predicted.
``The film is poised to become the biggest blockbuster of the summer,'' he said. ```Spider-Man' is looking like it's heading to a finish of $350 million. I think `Pirates' can sail past that.''
News / Gossips by fastrey2003
