| Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | |
| Director: | Thor Freudenthal |
| Screenplay: | Marc Guggenheim |
| Music: | Andrew Lockington |
| Cinematography: | Shelly Johnson |
| Editing: | Mark Goldblatt |
| Runtime: | 106 minutes[1] |
| Distributor: | 20th Century Fox |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $90 million[2] |
| Gross: | $200.9 million[3] |
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (also known as Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters and Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters) is a 2013 fantasy adventure film directed by Thor Freudenthal from a screenplay by Marc Guggenheim, based on the 2006 novel The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. The sequel to (2010), it is the second and final installment in the Percy Jackson film series.
The film continues the adventures of Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) and his friends as they journey to the eponymous Sea of Monsters to retrieve the Golden Fleece in order to save the tree barrier that protects their home. Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, and Jake Abel reprise their roles from the previous film, while Nathan Fillion and Anthony Head replace Dylan Neal and Pierce Brosnan, respectively. New additions to the cast include Leven Rambin, Douglas Smith, and Stanley Tucci.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 2013, by 20th Century Fox. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals and action, but criticism for its plot and characters. It grossed $200.9 million worldwide against a production budget of $90 million. A sequel based on The Titan's Curse was planned, but never produced. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019, Disney consequently gained the rights to the Percy Jackson novels, upon which Riordan pitched a television adaptation that debuted on Disney+ in 2023.
Seven years before the events of the film, young Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Luke Castellan and Grover Underwood were pursued by monsters on their way to Camp Half Blood. When Thalia sacrificed herself to save her friends, her father, Zeus, honored her act by turning her into a tree, which formed a protective barrier around the camp, keeping everyone inside within a safe zone.
In the present day, Percy Jackson now attends camp and has befriended Annabeth and Grover. His quest for Zeus's lightning bolt has faded in popularity and he is called a one-quest wonder by camp bully Clarisse La Rue. He is joined at camp by a young cyclops named Tyson, a previously unknown son of a sea-nymph and Poseidon, and therefore Percy's half-brother. After camp is attacked by a Colchis bull, the campers discover Thalia's tree has been poisoned by Luke and the barrier is weakening.
Annabeth learns about the healing powers of the Golden Fleece, which Grover senses is located off the coast of Florida, and they propose a quest to retrieve it to use to heal Thalia's tree. As it will involve crossing the Sea of Monsters (Known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle), camp counsellor Mr. D denies them, but then claims the idea as his own and selects Clarisse for the quest. Meanwhile, Percy consults the Oracle of Delphi, who tells of a prophecy that a half-blood of one of the three elder gods will one day either save or destroy Olympus. Chiron informs Percy that as he is the only living human half-blood of the eldest gods, the Prophecy may refer to him.
Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson decide to leave camp in pursuit of the Fleece. They ride in the Chariot of Damnation (a New York City cab) as far as Washington D.C., where its drivers - the Graeae - eject them for lacking drachmas. Luke's cronies kidnap Grover and, with the help of Hermes, the others track him down to Luke's yacht, "The Andromeda", where they are captured after boarding. Aided by other disillusioned demi-gods, Luke reveals his intention to use the Fleece to resurrect Kronos the titan and have him destroy Olympus. Luke imprisons the group, but Percy uses his ability to manipulate water to break them free. Luke sets his Manticore on the group, but they escape aboard one of the yacht's lifeboats.
The group crosses the Sea of Monsters, where they are swallowed by Charybdis, who has also swallowed Clarisse and her warship. They escape by blasting their way out of Charybdis's gut and Percy guides the ship towards the coast of Florida. Landing there, they find the Fleece guarded by the cyclops Polyphemus in his lair, as well as Grover, disguised as a cyclops. They rescue Grover, retrieve the Fleece and trap Polyphemus, but they are ambushed by Luke. He makes Percy hand over the Fleece, while Tyson is shot with a crossbow while trying to protect Percy and falls into a roaring stream.
As Luke begins reviving Kronos, Percy escapes capture and confronts him, aided by Tyson, who survived his wound after being healed by the water, as he is Poseidon's son. Kronos rises from his sarcophagus and Percy engages him in battle, eventually using Poseidon's sword to defeat and re-imprison the titan. Annabeth is impaled by the Manticore and dies, but is resurrected by the Fleece. The group returns to camp, where Chiron expresses uncertainty as to whether Percy has fulfilled the prophecy by preventing Luke's plan to destroy Olympus. Clarisse places the Fleece on Thalia's tree, which restores the barrier, but also resurrects Thalia. Percy realizes that, as Thalia is the daughter of Zeus, the prophecy of Olympus could now also refer to her.
Reports of a second Percy Jackson film first surfaced in March 2011.[12] [13] On October 12, 2011, a sequel was officially confirmed by 20th Century Fox.[14] Filming for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters began on April 16, 2012. The film was originally going to be released on March 15, 2013,[15] but in May 2012, the release date was postponed to August 16, 2013.[16] In April 2013, a final release date was set for August 7, 2013.[17] Filming took place in Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby, B.C.; however from June 20 to July 22, they filmed in New Orleans for Princess Andromeda scenes,[18] including the former site of Six Flags New Orleans.[19] More filming took place in January 2013. On January 22, 2013, Logan Lerman released a statement on Twitter that read "Last day of shooting on Percy Jackson 2" accompanied by a photo of the shooting.[20]
In February 2011, it was revealed in the online subscription magazine Production Weekly that the film was in production.[21] In another source, the lead cast members from the first movie were expected to return for their roles. Chris Columbus would not be returning as director, though he would be producing the movie together with Karen Rosenfelt (producer of the Twilight movie Breaking Dawn). Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were hired as the scriptwriters.[22] Marc Guggenheim was hired to re-write the screenplay and Alexander and Karaszewski were uncredited. On June 16, 2011, it was announced that Thor Freudenthal would be directing the movie.[23] Shooting began in summer 2012. On October 12, 2011, it was announced that the film would be released on March 26, 2013. On April 6, it was announced that the movie was pushed up to August 7, 2013.[24] On May 31, 2012, it was announced that the movie had been pushed back to August 16, 2013.[25]
On January 13, 2012, a brand new production list was released and stated that filming would take place between April 26, 2012 and July 11, 2012.[26] [27] It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and New Orleans, Louisiana, with the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans serving as the filming location for the island of Polyphemus. Filming wrapped in July 2012, with reshoots taking place in January 2013.[28] [29]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 42% based on reviews from 117 critics, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The website's consensus reads, "It's pretty and packed with action; unfortunately, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is also waterlogged with characters and plots that can't help but feel derivative."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 based on 33 collected reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale from A+ to F, the same grade earned by the previous film.[32]
Jim Vejvoda of IGN rated the movie a six out of ten: "There are worse sequels than the CG-heavy Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, but it's just such overly familiar territory."[33] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying that "tweens and young teens should be sufficiently distracted by the movie's brisk pace and heroic mayhem — if they're not too unnerved by its at times nightmarish imagery".[34] James Rocchi of ScreenCrush wrote that the film "is hardly the stuff of legend, but by keeping the plot straightforward and the storytelling clean, it's an odyssey the intended young audience will be glad to take."[35] Marsha McCreadie on RogerEbert.com rated the film two and a half stars out of four, calling it "a gentler-spirited, less flashy enterprise, though it still presents a natural world that can morph at the whim of a god."[36]
Andy Webster of The New York Times commented: "Sea of Monsters is diverting enough — the director, Thor Freudenthal ... is savvy with effects and keeps his young cast on point — but it doesn’t begin to approach the biting adolescent tension of the Harry Potter movies."[37] However, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the film as "lack[ing] the energetic zip of its predecessor,"[38] while Bruce Ingram of Chicago Sun-Times opined that "faithful fans of the novels will be unhappy with the liberties taken with the adaptation like they were with the first film."[39] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald wrote, "[Are] these characters merely prisoners — much like the audience — of a script so uninspired that it demands their stupidity?"[40] Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly lambasted the series as a whole as "a thoroughly second-rate franchise ... with movies like Sea of Monsters, it can probably continue in acceptable mediocrity for years to come".[41]
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters grossed $68,559,554 in North America and $133,688,197 internationally for a worldwide total of $202,247,751.
The film grossed $5.4 million on its opening day, taking the second spot at the domestic box office.[42] During its extended five-day opening weekend, the film debuted at number four and grossed $23,258,113.[43]
Katelyn Mager was nominated for her performance at the 2014 Young Artist Award as Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film.[44]
See main article: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (soundtrack). The film's score was composed by Andrew Lockington.[45] "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" by Fall Out Boy and "Cameo Lover" by Kimbra were featured in the movie but are not included in the soundtrack.
The film was released on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 17, 2013. The film was additionally released for Digital HD download on December 3.[46] [47]
On March 25, 2014, Lerman stated that a sequel to Sea of Monsters would not be made.[48] However, six days later, another report stated "Logan Lerman has said Percy Jackson 3 could still go ahead" and that the previous report "was taken out of context".[49] At the 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Lerman said that while he finds the Percy Jackson films fun to make, he has not heard anything about the production of a third film and expressed concern that he and his co-stars were growing too old for their parts.[50]
See main article: ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians'' (TV series).
The rights to the Percy Jackson novels were transferred to Disney following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, upon which Riordan pitched a new adaptation in September of that year.[51] On May 14, 2020, a Disney+ series separate from the Fox film series was announced on Riordan's Twitter account, where he stated that he and his wife Becky would be involved in the production of the series.[52] [53] Each season of the series would adapt one installment of the book series, with the first season being an adaptation of The Lightning Thief.[54] The series was greenlit in January 2022,[55] began production in June 2022,[56] and premiered on December 19, 2023.[57] Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri respectively portray the three leads Percy, Annabeth and Grover.[58] [59]