THE POWER OF THREE

 

 

Hollywood is a beast which is never satiated. Even after gobbling billions of dollars and burping huge profits, it still wants more. Nothing exemplifies this tendency more than the three movies that promise to keep you entertained this summer – Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Shrek the Third. All three are what you would call ‘threequels’ – the third instalments of the franchises. It’s of little consequence that the last six movies have grossed close to $5 billion, for what matters right now is how much can these three rake!

The scenario was not always such until Star Wars blasted all the way ahead with its laser weapons and obliterated all previous box office records. That changed the rules of the game and Hollywood moguls realized that if they could create a rich, colourful, memorable and popular setting, there was no point in wasting it on a single movie! If people loved the first one, they would continue to the sequels. It was practically a license to mint money! Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings and X-men series are a testament to that. Of course, making the ‘third’ isn’t a cheap proposition at all as the players involved get pricier. Spider-Man 3 is reportedly the costliest movie ever made, with a budget of over $300 million. The other two, Pirates... and Shrek, have budgets of about $200 million and $100 million respectively. Maybe the only reason Shrek the Third costs so less is that poor Shrek and Fiona are happy in their swamps!