Hollywood is banking that moviegoers will want to go back for a third helping of their film favorites this summer. Spider-Man 3 is the first threequel out of the gate. The rest:
SHREK THE THIRD
• When: May 18
• Why we need it: Puss in Boots was just getting warmed up. And summer's a lot sunnier when Mike Myers is at the cineplex, even in ogre form.
• Why the studios want it: Shrek II made $436 million in the U.S., $837 million worldwide.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
• When: May 25
• Why we need it: Dead Man's Chest was like one very long prologue for the third installment. And Barbosa's back!
• Why the studios want it: Talk about pirate booty: Dead Man's Chest raked in $432 million domestically, $840 million worldwide.
OCEAN'S THIRTEEN
• When: June 8
• Why we need it: To expunge the bad taste left by the putrid Ocean's Twelve.
• Why the studios want it: If George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt want to make a movie together, you let them.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
• When: Aug. 3
• Why we need it: In a cinematic summer sure to be overstuffed with CGI effects, we need a new dose of authentic hair-raising stunt work - Bourne's calling card.
• Why the studios want it: The first two films made a combined $300 million in the U.S. alone.
RUSH HOUR 3
• When: Aug. 12
• Why we need it: Chris Tucker needs work.
• Why the studios want it: Rush Hour 2 cost $90 million to make and grossed $347 million worldwide.
Third time's a charm?
Film franchises that try to stretch a double into a triple don't always score. Should we get excited by this summer's rash of threequels?
THE CASE FOR:
-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Made up for the annoying Temple of Doom.
• Rocky III: Gave us Mr. T!
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Looks even better when compared with Revenge of the Sith.
THE CASE AGAINST:
• The Godfather: Part III: At least Sofia Coppola became a fine director.
• American Wedding Same jokes from American Pie told a third time.
• Back to the Future Part III Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In other words, wasn't this the same movie as the first, just set in the Old West?
• Rambo III: Yet another Cold War beat-down.
• Lethal Weapon 3 Joe Pesci's character driven into the ground.
• Beverly Hills Cop III: Eddie Murphy's career needed help in the mid-'90s. This wasn't it.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
