Besson builds 'Arthur' franchise

French director-producer to make two sequels

By ALISON JAMES

PARIS — Luc Besson's E65 million ($85 million) CG/live-action "Arthur and the Invisibles" has passed the 5 million admission mark in France, and two sequels are officially in the pipeline.

Besson had previously said "Arthur" would be his last film as a director. But when buzz began to mount ahead of the pic's last month, he said if it was a hit he would turn his book franchise into a movie trilogy.

Pic about a little boy who enters the world of tiny creatures called Minimoys hit 5.4 million admissions over the weekend, after ticket sales in its third week rose 52%.

Besson took out a four-page ad in a French trade magazine announcing "Arthur and the Vengeance of Malthazar" for 2009 and "Arthur and the War of Two Worlds" for 2010.

The sequels are based on volumes three and four from the book series; the first Arthur film combined the stories in the first two books.

"Arthur's" Gallic B.O. perf puts it way ahead of other holiday season fare in France. It has overtaken "Camping," 2006's No. 4 earner in Gaul last year after the "Les Bronzes" sequel "Friends Forever," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Ice Age: The Meltdown."

Film has already beaten all of Besson's previous pics except for "The Big Blue's" 10 million admissions and "The Fifth Element's" 8 million.

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