Besson Builds ARTHUR Franchise

French Director-Producer to Make Two Sequels

PARIS — Luc Besson's Euros 65 million ($85 million) CG and live action ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES has passed the 5 million admission mark in France and two sequels are now officially in the pipeline.

Besson had previously said that ARTHUR would be his last film as a director. But when buzz about the film began to mount ahead of the film's release last month, he said if it was a hit he would turn the self-penned book franchise into a movie trilogy.

Pic about a little boy (Freddie Highmore) who enters the world of tiny creatures called Minimoys, hit 5.4 million admissions over the weekend, after ticket sales in its third week on Gallic screens went up 52%.

Multiplying the admissions total by the average ticket price of $6.38, gives a cume of about $34.5 million.

Besson, in New York for ARHTUR's U.S. preem Sunday night, took out a four page ad in a French trade magazine announcing ARHTUR AND THE VENGEANCE OF MALTHAZAR for 2009 and ARHTUR AND THE WAR OF TWO WORLDS for 2010.

The sequels are based on volumes three and four from the book series, the first Arthur film having combined the stories of the first two books.

ARTHUR's Gallic box office performance puts it way out in front of other holiday season fare in France, and it has overtaken CAMPING, the fourth biggest box office earner in Gaul last year after the LES BRONZES sequel FRIENDS FORVER, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2 and "ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN."

It still has a way to go yet, but the film has already beaten Besson's previous box office scores except for THE BIGF BLUE's 10 million admissions and the Razzie-nominated FIFTH ELEMENT, with 8 million. 

©2007, Variety Publications

Other than the "French Fry"!

I was trying to be nice and find something positive, Anyways I am still trying to scratch my head on something.... How is it that a film that has barley earned $40 million world wide, with a production budget of $86 million (American) for the one film that is already out, justify a green light for not just one, but 2 CGI sequels of the same material. This movie alone would have to earn at least between $150 to $200 million for any sane studio to give the green light for just one of them. I guess French producers and movie studios just like seeing there money going up in smoke.

...And on the way out!