LOS ANGELES: When the first "Percy Jackson" film came out in 2010, the comparisons with "Harry Potter" were inevitable: the two were based on novels about kids with powers and the first films in both franchises were directed by Chris Columbus.
But "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" fell short of "Harry Potter"-like success, particularly in the United States. Now, with "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" opening this week, Columbus gets a new chance to show that Percy can be like Harry, both in box office and fan appeal.
The contemporary fantasy film from 20th Century Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox, stars Logan Lerman as the son of the Greek god Poseidon. It is based on the five-part book series of the same name by Rick Riordan, with more than 33 million books sold in the United States. It also has been translated into 37 languages across the world.
'Percy Jackson' sequel hopes to lure in bigger US audience
"Thankfully, the international audience (on the first film) was so huge that we realized there's an appetite for a sequel," said Columbus, who produces the franchise, but has handed the director's chair to Germany's Thor Freudenthal for the second installment.
"Lightning Thief," made for an estimated $95 million, fell short of expectations at the North American box office with $88.7 million, but fared better overseas with a $137.7 million gross. "Sea of Monsters" cost about $90 million, ccording to a person close to the production of the film.
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