NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Warner Bros. is hoping young testosterone, and a marketing blitz deliberately aimed at it, will turn its new "Matrix" sequels into money magic.
"They made a bigger, better, badder sequel," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, a box office tracking firm. "I think it's the most anticipated movie of the year, and it's going to play big."
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The producers of The Matrix: Reloaded are looking for more than just ticket sales. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibit Relations, talks about movie studio investments and the profits generated.
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"The Matrix: Reloaded," the second installment of the Matrix trilogy, opens Thursday around the world. "The Matrix: Revolutions" follows in November.
Much like teenage girls drove "Titanic" to a $600 million box office success, college-age boys are likely to drive the "Matrix" sequels, said Ray Richmond, entertainment columnist at The Hollywood Reporter.
"My 17-year-old son is planning to see the 6:00 p.m. screening on Thursday in a suit and tie," Richmond said, alluding to the Matrix characters' penchant for suits and ties. "He said he's planning to go to another screening immediately after...He wants to see the movie twice on the same night."
Unveiled four years ago, "The Matrix" was a $65 million sci-fi flick that Warner Bros. expected little from, created and directed by writer-director brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski.
"It was released on March 31, 1999, a Wednesday," Dergarabedian said. "It got off to a slow start because the plot was a little complicated and nobody knew what it was."
But its special effects, particularly the "bullet time" fight sequences created by Yuen Wo Ping (the mastermind who later choreographed the fight scenes in Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), started to generate a lot of buzz.
"The Matrix" opened with $28 million in ticket sales, but went on to earn about $450 million at the box office globally and won four Academy Awards.
The magic of timing
To protect the franchise, Warner Bros. picked the two best seasons to release the sequels. It's also likely that the DVD of "Reloaded" will be out in time for the holidays, around the time "Revolutions" comes out, Coleman said.
"The two times people go to movies the most are the summer and before Christmas," said Jay Coleman, CEO of entertainment marketing firm EMCI. "I could see them (Warner Bros.) spending a lot on advertising for the theatrical release for the third installment, and that would help sales for the DVD of the Matrix 2."
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Actor Keanu Reeves, above, returns as "Neo" in "The Matrix: Reloaded."
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Warner Bros. also plans to release on June 3 a separate DVD collection of nine short animated films called "Animatrix" -- essentially prequels to the first movie. The release of the DVD set, which took three years to complete and was also created by the Wachowski brothers, was deliberately positioned between the two theatrical releases to further whet moviegoers' appetites for the movies, said Coleman.
Some of the shorts were available on the Matrix's official site earlier this year, and the reception was astounding, said Ronnee Sass, a spokeswoman for Warner Home Video.
The first episode, "Second Renaissance Part 1," which debuted in February, received 3.5 million downloads, while the second episode "Program" yielded 1.2 million downloads, according to WHV.
In addition, Warner Bros. Interactive said its "Enter the Matrix" video game will be in stores on May 15, the same day "Reloaded" opens.
Hollywood does it better the second time around
Warner Bros. has planned a 3,600-theater opening on Thursday, and despite an R-rating limiting audiences, "Reloaded" is expected to break the R-rated opening record of $58 million set by "Hannibal," in 2001, said Dergarabedian.
"It's probably going to be bigger than X2," Dergarabedian added. "X2: X-men United," which opened May 2, took in $86 million in its opening weekend.
The two "Matrix" films will also mark the first time two sequels have been released in the same calendar year.
Two "Back to the Future" sequels, like the "Matrix" sequels, were shot together by Universal after the success of the original. But the two films were released in separate years, November 1989 and May 1990.
"The first 'Back' sequel earned $119 million, but the second only took in $88 million," Dergarabedian said. "The third one wasn't that well reviewed," he recalled.
Although a 1-2 punch of two sequels in one year might normally run the risk of overkill, the Matrix's built-in audience are unlikely to feel oversaturated, Richmond said.
"I don't think the fans can possibly get overloaded," said Richmond. "The sci-fi crowd has gotten behind this movie, and once that happens, you've got a Star Wars kind of situation."
The Matrix fans have a ravenous, unquenchable appetite for this film, he said. "There are enough of them out there to push this to $300, $400 million, even with their eyes closed."
Warner Bros., owned by CNN/Money's parent AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), declined to comment on its marketing strategy for the Matrix franchise. Warner Home Video, another sister company of CNN/Money, said they have not set a date for the DVD release of "Reloaded."
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