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By all accounts, it's been a sizzling summer for Hollywood.
In North America alone, ticket sales currently stand at around US$3.83 billion (S$5.83 billion), up 10 per cent from last year, while admissions are close to 560 million, up five per cent from the same period last year.
Analysts such as Paul Dergarabedian, head of ticket sales tracker Media By Numbers, are even predicting this year's revenue will break the record of US$3.95 billion set in 2004. "We will certainly surpass US$4 billion," he told the Reuters news agency.
Indeed, all 10 of this year's big-budget releases have earned in excess of US$100 million in America, with four titles crossing the US$300-million mark.
Even The Simpsons Movie performed beyond expectations, laying to rest studio executives' initial fears that audiences won't pay to watch the misadventures of this dysfunctional family when they can easily catch syndicated episodes of the TV series for free.
Several records were set along the way. Spider-Man 3 sold a record US$373 million worth of tickets worldwide in its first six days of release. It was also the biggest box office opening weekend of all time in 29 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and China.
In Singapore, though, the web-slinger lost out to the boy wizard whose fifth outing, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, claimed the top spot for an opening weekend gross with S$2.97 million.
Amidst the white noise of these wham-bang productions, there was still room for an old-fashioned fratboy rom-com, Knocked Up, romping home with US$147 million.
Beneath the happy numbers, however, is a different picture. Industry watchers, for instance, point out that the so-called "threequels" haven't been as well-received as their predecessors.
The low-down: Spider-Man 3 took 24 days to hit US$300 million, two days slower than Spider-Man 2 (2004) and a good five days slower than the first installment in 2002.
Similarly, Shrek the Third chalked up US$219 million in the US after 11 days, compared to the US$260 million made by Shrek 2 during the same period in 2004.
Perhaps familiarity does breed contempt, with audiences getting tired of the trite and tested. Film reviewers seem to agree too, with many complaining that the movies offer nothing fresh.
Coming in for the most drubbing is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. On www.rottentomatoes.com, it received a 45 per cent approval rating, on average, from North American critics, compared to the 54 per cent for the second installment, Dead Man's Chest.
"Relentlessly dense and unfathomable", said one critic. "The film runs nearly three hours long and feels like it," commented another. But as far as Hollywood is concerned, what counts is that sequels still bring in the moolah.
Which is why Shrek 4 is already on the cards and due in 2010. Ditto for Spider-man 4 (2009) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008).
If the formula ain't broke, why fix it? - TODAY/ym
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