Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief didn’t exactly set the box office alight when it hit screens last February, although it did earn a modest $226 million worldwide on a budget of $95 million (plus an extra $33 million on DVD/Blu-ray).

With no greenlight or mention of a sequel throughout the rest of 2010 it could have been assumed that 20th Century Fox weren’t interested in making another, however according to reports screenwriters have been hired and filming on the second film could begin as early as this summer.

From 24 Frames:

Fox 2000, the 20th Century Fox label behind the adventure franchise, is putting a follow-up project to the 2010 young-adult film in active development and could shoot it as early as this summer, according to a person who has been briefed on the project’s status but was not authorized to speak publicly about it. The movie would be subtitled “The Sea of Monsters” and derive from the second book in Rick Riordan’s five-book series.

The studio has hired Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski — who wrote “Ed Wood” and “Agent Cody Banks” — to write a script for the new film, which they are currently doing. But the person cautioned that the project is still very much at the development phase; the movie, for instance, does not yet have a director.

The site continues to say that Chris Columbus is not expected to return as director (although he will produce), however leads Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson and Alexandra Daddario will be back. The second novel by Rick Riordan follows Percy and his group of friends as they head to the titular sea to find the mythical Golden Fleece and to free a friend who has been captured there.

Are you interested in seeing a second outing from Percy Jackson?

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today released their short list of 15 films currently in contention for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for the 83rd Academy Awards. As usual, the list is a mix of critical darlings, box office failures, comic book movies, sequels and originals.

Here are the 15 films in alphabetical order:

• Alice in Wonderland
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Clash of the Titans
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
• Hereafter
• Inception
• Iron Man 2
• The Last Airbender
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• Scott Pilgrim vs the World
• Shutter Island
• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
• TRON: Legacy
• Unstoppable

Members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee will narrow the list down to seven in early January, prior to the announcement of the Oscar nominations on Tuesday, January 25, 2011.

Which select few do you think will make it through to the final 3? Last year it was a battle between Avatar, Star Trek and District 9, with Avatar obviously taking the gold.

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A Bruce Willis buddy comedy directed by Kevin Smith versus a George Romero horror remake? Yes, this are the new contenders at the box office this weekend. Unfortunately for both of them I expect Shutter Island to take the first place once again, here’s why.

Cop Out is an R-rated buddy comedy opening in a hefty 3150 theaters in North America starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Stiffler (his mom is not in this). Kevin Smith (Jersey Girl, Zack and Miri make a Porno) is given here a pretty high profile studio movie but unfortunately (at least based on the RT 20% fresh reviews) this doesn’t seem to be his best work (probably also because he did not write the screenplay, unlike previous projects). This being a comedy might help its cause at the box office but with the bad ratings, bad box office reputation of Kevin Smith and average at best previews, I don’t see a bright future for this one, not even a dim one. $15-$20 million opening weekend and $30-$40 million total.

The Crazies on the other hand looks much better and has a RT of 70% fresh with the consensus being: “Tence, nicely shot, and uncommonly intelligent, The Crazies is the rare horror remake that works”, big words for a horror remake. Unfortunately history has thought us that well reviewed horror movies don’t become box office success stories simply because they were well received (Drag me to Hell). This was directed by Breck Eisner (Sahara) and opens in 2476 theaters  staring Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell. An R-rating is usually a plus for this kind of flicks. While I’d like to see this movie do better, I don’t expect more then $10-$15 million opening weekend and around $30-$35 million at the end of its run.

The top 5 should look something like this:

1. Shutter Island (Paramont) $21M ($73.8M)
2. Cop Out (Warner Bros) $18M (NEW)
3. The Crazies (Overture) $14M (NEW)
4. Avatar (Fox) $11M ($703.9M)
5. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) $9M ($70.4M)

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As expected, Shutter Island had no trouble debuting in first place this weekend at the NA box office according to BoxOfficeMojo.

The DiCaprio-Scorsese flick opened with $41 million in 2991 theaters for an above average debut for the psychological R-rated thriller genre. This is the best opening weekend ever for both DiCaprio and Scorsese.

In second place falling like a rock from last weekend with 70.4% was Valentine’s Day with $16.6 million for a total of $86.9 million.

Avatar was a very close third with $16.2 million and a now total of $687.9 million to add to the staggering $2.46 billion it has made worldwide in just 10 weeks.

Percy Jackson was down 51.2% with $15.2 million for fifth place and a total of $58.7 million. With a $95 million budget and $126 million worldwide so far I’d say Percy Jackson is on the right track and we might even see a sequel if it doubles that number.

The Wolfman fell 68.6% to $9.8 million and a total of $50.3 million on a $150 million budget. Could have been worse but I think a few people down at Universal aren’t to happy about this one.

Dear John continues to drop fast and is now at $7.1 million for a $65.8 million total. At this point I don’t see Dear John beating The Notebook ($81 million) anymore as the highest grossing Nicholas Sparks adaptation.

On the other hand Tooth Fairy continues to drop slowly with $4.3 million and a total of $49.7 million.

Crazy Heart goes up one spot from 9th to 8th place in its third week in the top 10. $2.9 million and a total of $21.5 million means this movie is a platform success.

Finally From Paris with Love and The Edge of Darkness round up the top 10 with $2.6 million and $2.2 million. John Travolta and Mel Gibson won’t be too happy with these movies since they kind of bombed, $21.3 million on a $52 million budget for John and $40.3 million on a $80 million budget for Mel. I bet they miss the good old days.

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According to BoxOfficeMojo in NA Valentine’s Day won the weekend with $56.2 million and went on to make $63.1 million over the extended 4-day weekend (including Presidents’ Day on Monday). This was the biggest Presidents’ Day weekend and February opening on record surpassing even the most optimistic expectations. Obviously V day on Sunday helped this movie achieve such a  record ($23.3 million on that day alone).

For second place we have The Wolfman in a very close finish with Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lighting Thief, $31.4 million versus $31.2 million. If we take into account the full 4-day holiday weekend then Percy Jackson came in second with $38.6 million compared to $35.5 million for The Wolfman.

In forth place we have Avatar, two spots lower then last week but surprisingly 3.3% stronger with $23.6 million over the 3-day weekend and $28.7 million over the 4-day weekend totaling now $666.3 million in NA and after a 9th consecutive weekend in first place internationally with $59 million (for a total of $1.68 billion) this movie stands at $2.35 billion worldwide.

Dear John was good for fifth place with $16 million and a higher then expected 47.3% drop and $18.2 million over the 4-day weekend. This movie is at $56 million so far and that’s great for a flick with a $25 million budget.

Tooth Fairy was in 6th place and it keeps having surprisingly strong holds, only 8.7% drop for $6 million for the weekend and $8 million for the 4-day weekend, 43.9 million after 25 days.

In 7th and 8th place we have R rated disappointments From Paris with Love and Edge of Darkness with $5.4/6.3 million respectively $4.8/5.5 million for totals of $17.4 million ($52 million budget) and $37 million ($80 million budget).

For a second week in the top 10 we have Crazy Heart in 9th place with $4.2/4.9 million, 19.6% higher then last weekend and now standing at $17.5 million in total, very well for an independent movie with a $7 million budget.  Crazy Heart is still expanding in theaters so this is probably not the last week we’ll see it in the top 10.

And finally When in Rome in 10th place, $3.6/4.2 million and $26.8 million total.

This was the highest Presidents’ Day weekend ever with overall Friday-Monday box office coming in at close to $250 million, more then 10% higher then last year, the previous record holder.

The full 4-day Presidents’ Day weekend chart can be found here and right after this we have the normal weekend:

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UPDATE: Nikki Finke has estimated Friday numbers that putt my numbers to shame:

1. Valentine’s Day Friday $16.5M, estimated 4-day weekend $60M
2. Percy Jackson $10.5M, $50M
3. The Wolfman $10.5M, $35M
4. Avatar $4.8M, $24M
5. Dear John $4.5M, $19M

It seems I vastly underestimated the new releases but I also think some of those numbers are a little inflated, we’ll see in less then two days.

In the first corner we have Benicio Del Furry, in the second corner some troubled teenager that can control water and in the third (and final) corner we have some Valentine mash-up with enough actors for 10 movies. One of this three will win the Valentine weekend in NA and I will try to go over each one with all the pros and cons and maybe find out who that will be.

Warning, a long post is coming up, if you just want to see the numbers scroll all the way down.

Valentine’s Day opens in 3665 theaters this weekend and stars Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts and Julia Roberts. It is also directed by Garry Marshall (Pretty Women, Runaway Bride) and it’s missing Richard Gere. V Day has a mighty awful 15% tomato meter (15 fresh, 88 rotten), a running time of 125 minutes and a PG-13 rating.

So we have a big cast that has someone for everyone of all ages, the perfect release date with the perfect title, a very high theater count (that means the studio is sure it will make money) and a director with a lot of background in the genre, someone that knows what he’s doing. On the downside, based on what critics say it’s not a very good movie but really, the audience that this movie is aimed at doesn’t give a damn about reviews so that won’t hurt the opening weekend one bit. Then there’s the running time, about 15-25 minutes longer then the norm for the genre, but this will only affect a little the number of showings for the day (probably 5 instead of 6 a day).

With all of that said Valentine’s Day is looking the movie to beat this weekend, I predict $36 million for the 3-day weekend, $40 million for the 4-day holiday weekend.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief opens in 3356 theaters and stars Logan Lerman, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman and Steve Coogan. It’s based on the novel by Rick Riordan and is directed by Chris Columbus (first two Harry Potter movies). 49% on RottenTomatoes (37 fresh, 39 rotten) makes it the best reviewed out of the three. 119 minutes running time and a PG rating.

I have not read any of the novels in the Percy Jackson series so this is all a mystery for me, but the fans seem to like it, so that’s a plus. Cast is good, reviews are decent but again, they won’t matter to much for the opening weekend.

I say $27 million for the 3-day weekend and $30 million for the 4-day holiday weekend.

The Wolfman opens in 3222 theaters and stars Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving. Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3, Captain America in 2011) is the director and this is a remake of the classic 1941 The Wolf Man. 30% on RottenTomatoes (33/77) is on par with other genre pics so I personally wasn’t expecting a lot more then that. 102 minutes running time and an R rating will help the movie just as much as it will hurt it.

The very troubled production and numerous delays will not help The Wolfman, a movie that was more suited for a Halloween release date then a Valentine’s Day one.

The Wolfman will probably suffer the most and open with about $22 million for the 3-day weekend and $25 million for the 4-day holiday weekend.

Three major motion pictures with very wide releases and somewhat high expectations from their studios, all released during a holiday weekend, a very crowded holiday weekend.

The top 5 should look like this (4-day holiday weekend):

1. Valentine’s Day (WB) $36M ($40M)
2. Percy Jackson (Fox) $27M ($30M)
3. The Wolfman (Uni) $22M ($25M)
4. Avatar (Fox) $18M ($22M)
5. Dear John (Sony) $17M ($20M)

Post in the comments your top 5 and in 2 days we will see who was closer to the real results.

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By this time next month 20th Century Fox may have a new franchise on their hands. That all of course depends on whether Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief can stand its ground against The Wolfman when it is released on February 12th. It has a lot going for it, having already established a fan base who read the books, as well as having good looking young leads and director Chris Columbus, who kick-started the Harry Potter franchise. There are also Greek Gods and multi-headed fire breathing monsters, which will no doubt appeal to casual movie goers in need of entertainment.

A clip from the movie has made its way online, and in it we see Percy Jackson with his version of Ron and Hermione taking on a Hydra, with their version of magic.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief also stars Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman and Rosario Dawson.

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A new Swiss poster for Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief has found it’s way online, and it looks rather cool. Logan Lerman plays Percy Jackson who is the son of Poseidon and a demigod. Because of this he has quite a few powers up his sleeve, for instance he can move and control large volumes of water with great force, as seen with the poster below.

A featurette for the film has also been released, and in it the cast talk about their characters and the story.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman and Rosario Dawson, and will be released next February.

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Yesterday we saw an international trailer for Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and now we have a new domestic one. It’s similar to the one we got yesterday but it’s longer, contains new footage, and we find out that Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon and can control water. People who have read the book will have known that already, however having only just found out I think it’s pretty cool.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Logan Lerman, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman and Rosario Dawson, and will be released next February.

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We have a new international trailer for Percy Jackson & The Olympians The Lightning Thief, and it’s probably the best trailer released so far. Not only do we see more of Pierce Brosnan and Rosario Dawson, we get our first look at Uma Thurman as Medusa.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians will be released next February, and Clash of The Titans will be released in March. That means we will be getting two potentially cool movies based on Greek gods within 30 days of each other. Although, Percy Jackson has taken the mythology and given it a modern twist so there should be no conflict. I’m interested to see who plays the best Zeus though. Will it be Sean Bean or Liam Neeson?

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