'Percy Jackson' Sequel Cranks Up Modern-Day Mythological Adventure

If you're still waiting for the next Harry Potter phenomenon to launch on the big screen, your patience will be tested a bit longer. Back in early 2010, Chris Columbus (ironically the director of the first two Potter films) helmed Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - the first installment of the Rick Riordan series of the same name that mashed Greek mythology with a contemporary setting. While Percy Jackson wasn't exactly a blockbuster ($88 million domestic), there's still a crowd out for a sequel.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the second installment lined up in the franchise as demigod Percy (Logan Lerman) believes himself to be a one-adventure wonder after procuring Zeus' missing lightning bolt. But as fate would have it, Percy and his get caught up in chasing after the fabled Golden Fleece somewhere in the Sea of Monsters or the Bermuda Triangle as it's known to mortals.  

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Futuristic Commentary 'Elysium' Leads Overcrowded Weekend, Falls Short of 'District 9' Debut

Four new releases debuted in a heavily crowded frame this past weekend, but it was Neill Blomkamp's futuristic social commentary Elysium that emerged victorious with its $30 million opening. 

Elysium stars Matt Damon as a dying factory worker in the year 2154, who's only chance of survival is to find a way aboard a luxurious space colony where the wealthy are provided with the finest health care of the future. Elysium is supplied with a more prominent cast and larger budget than Blomkamp's 2009 directorial debut, District 9, but while Elysium secured the top spot at the box office this past weekend, it failed to match the director's previous opening.

The other three new releases, We're the Millers, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Planes fought over the remaining spots in the Top 5, leaving last week's #1, 2 Guns barely hanging on to the final spot at the box office.