The box-office slump of 2005 put the scare into many studios who spent much of this year greenlighting material they felt audiences would be comfortable with.
Next year will see the fruits of that fiscal fear ripening. No less than twenty direct sequels are currently scheduled for next year - and that doesn't include remakes, spin-offs, prequels, new adaptations of familiar brands or projects with dates yet to be set. Box-office wise the results will probably be rosy, but the big question is will the quality increase proportionally as well.
There's some strong looking films on the cards - some potentially great pieces of filmmaking, others holding a lot of promise due to the people involved. Some seem like simply great pieces of escapist entertainment, whereas others already appear to be train wrecks waiting to happen. A few will soar, others will burn but all will be fascinating to watch. Here is a look at the most notable three dozen or so films coming in 2007:
3:10 to Yuma
28 Weeks Later
30 Days of Night
(March 9th, 2007)
The
American Gangster
Beowulf
Black Book
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Brave One
Charlie Wilson's War
Enchanted
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fred Claus
The Golden Age: Elizabeth II
The Golden Compass
Grindhouse
Halloween
Hannibal Rising
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hot Fuzz
I Am Legend
The Invasion
The Kingdom
Knocked Up
Live Free or Die Hard
Lust, Caution
The Mist
National Treasure 2
Ocean's Thirteen
<strong>The Other Boleyn Girl</strong> (Fall '07)
Despite being a historical true story about two sisters vying for the affections of Henry the Eighth, 'Boleyn' can be summed up in a one sentence pitch that will bring all ages in. That pitch? "Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman compete to out-slut each other in order to ride on Eric Bana's manhood". It's crude, but it's really that simple.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(May 25th, 2007)
The third "Pirates" faces a difficult proposition. Despite mixed reaction and stellar box-office, all pretty much agree that "Dead Man's Chest" was a creative disappointment compared with its much beloved predecessor. Without that goodwill to push the box-office along this time, and stiffer competition in the weeks before and after, can the conclusion of the "Pirates" saga hold water? With Geoffrey Rush back and at least several months of reshoots under its belt, there's hope - but we'll see. For now though Disney is in the odd position that for all its financial success it still has to earn our trust back on this franchise - otherwise it might be a "Matrix Revolutions" style quiet farewell for these pirates.
(June 29th, 2007)
The
Reservation Road
Rogue
The Simpsons Movie
Southland Tales
Spider-Man 3
(May 5th, 2007)
Raimi seems to have dumped all the self-loathing and moroseness that threatened to consume the franchise in the last film. This time around he's exploring the issue of power and its dark sides, a more compelling and cinematic subject matter. The only concern now is whether the film is balancing too many plates in the air - along with the Peter Parker/Spider-Man main thread about an entity exposing his darker instincts, there's subplots involving a love triangle with Mary Jane and a new girl, Harry Osborn getting revenge, a rival reporter out to get Peter, the emergence and threat of the Sandman villain, and the emergence of Venom. Throw in time for all the usual side characters and a lot of love or hate for the film will depend upon how well Raimi and the writers balance the juggling act between all these elements. One thing's for sure though, already I can hear cries of "there was not enough Venom".
Stardust Sunshine TMNT Transformers Trick or Treat Zodiac
