Maybe it’s kind of a restlessness we don’t understand. After a rather pitiable box-office this past winter, one of the worst on record, “Oz The Great And Powerful,” of all things, is somehow poised to make around $70 million this weekend. The expensive “Jack The Giant Slayer” movie proved not all fairy tale redos are a slam dunk and it bombed at the box-office last weekend with little signs of having any legs. But, ‘Oz,’ a film that received middling to OK reviews at best – we called it pretty to look at but otherwise dull – looks like it will be the first legitimate blockbuster of 2013 (and Disney is super relieved considering they spent upwards of $300 million on the film). A $70 million opening is not chump change and some of that might be pent-up demand. Audiences have been starving for a decent movie in early 2013 so far, and while ‘Oz’ still looks terrible to those of us who haven’t seen it (this writer), apparently ok reviews are better than completely tepid ones.
This is a long way of saying, of course there’s an “Oz The Great And Powerful” sequel in the works. This is how Hollywood works. This we know. But when that film does happen, director Sam Raimi won’t be involved.
“I haven’t planned on directing the sequel,” Raimi said (Coming Soon via Bleeding Cool). “I did leave some loose ends for another director if they want to make the picture… I was attracted to this story but I don’t think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested.” That’s certainly not what the studio wants you to hear because they surely believe the sequel will be even more lucrative – err, I mean, much more thrilling and fantastic. Are you bummed Raimi will go off and do something else? Do you care?
Meanwhile, Raimi recently admitted he had yet to see Marc Webb‘s “The Amazing Spider-Man.” In fact, at one point he said he simply would not watch the film. “I don’t want to go to my girlfriend’s wedding,” he said at the time making a metaphor of his former franchise. “I just can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t have the guts.” Well, that’s changed. Raimi finally saw the film, and guess what? He likes it.
“It was very hard for me to see the new Spider-Man movie, I felt so attached to it,” he told Superhero Hype. “I couldn’t see Spider-Man with another director; it’s like my love, and I didn’t want to walk in on my love with someone else. It was just like that. Then I got over myself last week and said, ‘just see the damn thing’. And I did, and I loved it. I actually felt free. I thought, ‘why am I carrying around this baggage?’ Of course the next Spider-Man story should be told, and [Marc Webb] did a wonderful job telling that. I loved the movie, and I’m looking forward like a fan to the next instalment. I love the comic book, and now I don’t feel bound, and I’m really glad somebody’s remaking it again.”
Hugs all around.