01 April 2007

Spder-Man 4 already set for 2009?

As I grow older, the less I care about seeing movies at the theaters and the more I care about the business side of it, like how the big studios are already lining up films for the next two years. Of course, this is big business and to keep the investors happy, you announce these tent-pole films way in advance.

That being said, I wonder how Sony has set a May 2009 release date for Spider-Man 4, even though there is still a month before number 3 opens and that its have said that 3 is enough? Does this make the investors happy? Does Sony’s stock go up, despite not having a potential cast or even a director? I have no doubt that Spidy 3 will do good, but I feel this announcement is nothing less than speculative at best.

Meanwhile, after Speed Racer moved up two-weeks to avoid the potential problems of coming out the same day as Indiana Jones 4, the adaptation of the beloved graphic novel Watchman has been placed in its spot, May 22, 2008. Still, while both films appeal to some radically different fans, I think Watchman can survive against Indy, but it won’t be number 1 at the box office that weekend. Also next summer, Warner Bros. has moved up the release date ofThe Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, from mid July to June 13. It should easily beat up the new version of The Hulk, also scheduled to open that day. The move of the Dark Knight seems to be in response to the potential clusterfuck of July 11, which will see the three huge sequels opening the same day, The Mummy 3, Hellboy 2 and Sin City 2. And finally, looking towards Thanksgiving 2008, Sony has decided that James Bond 22 will take on Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, as both films will open on November 19.

Not to bitch, but are sequels just getting out of hand?

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