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Shalimar Sahota: Well, I guess the best case scenario for a sequel to Clash of the Titans was having half the people turn up rather than nobody. The opening weekend total comes across as an okay number, but when factoring in the production budget and the performance of the former film... it looks less okay. The first film is now synonymous for opening our eyes to just how bad post-converted 3D can look and I imagine it will never escape that stigma. I understand the film has its fans, most of whom probably turned out for the opening weekend of Wrath, but I guess everyone else was thinking, "Do I really want to see a sequel to a film that had the worst 3D I've ever seen?"

Personally, I think some of the crazy visuals in the trailers to Wrath look absolutely stunning, but the bad reviews would signal that this sequel does not make amends for what was inflicted two years earlier. I have a feeling it may even struggle to reach $100 million at the US box office. I kind of agree with Bruce in that overseas grosses will probably save something like this. So long as it's big, flashy and in 3D it'll likely sell well. It's worked on sequels like Tron Legacy, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, On Stranger Tides and Dark of the Moon.

Brett Beach: I think the two things to look at are a) they only allotted $25 million for a budget increase (from $125 to $150 million) on a film that was a huge worldwide hit and they hired Jonathan (LA Chainsaw Darkness Falls: The Beginning) Liebesman, which I would argue is a step down from Louis Leterrier. Theory A is they were hedging their bets. Theory B is they knew they would have another huge global hit and it didn't matter who they selected as helmer, or how terrible the 3D upgrade was. Once again, the global picture is the important one and even with a throwunder domestically, it may surpass Clash. But I will focus on the domestic and say that a $75-80 million finish here - if that - is terrible. The nice thing to be said is that John Carter is around to show what a real financial bruising feels like. I also love the new lingo that a sequel no one was asking for to a film that was a huge hit but that no one really seems to like is a "chance to get it right/make it better/etc."

David Mumpower: Look, the international box office numbers can be trumpeted as much as Warner Bros. wants. It doesn't matter. Everybody knows how misleading those totals are. International revenue is nowhere near as lucrative as North American receipts due to the tariffs, added costs for subtitles, international marketing requirements and the like. We have reached a point where studios are doing a little better than profiting 15 cents per dollar on overseas revenue, but it's still not much higher. In other words, domestic revenue is still the bottom line in this industry. A movie that costs $150 million to produce damn sure better have a better opening weekend than $33.4 million. Wrath of the Titans is the second recent example of an unwelcome franchise sequel. The other title, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, is a much (much much) more successful project. Wrath of the Titans will clean up overseas, but The Hunger Games has stolen every single bit of its thunder in North America.

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