Los Angeles — Hollywood continues to borrow the business plan from the fast-food industry, whose three guiding words are franchise, franchise, franchise.
Even more so than 2001, the coming year brings a bounty of sequels, spinoffs, updates and film franchises in the making, led by the latest in the "Star Wars," "Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings," "Star Trek," James Bond and "Austin Powers" series.
As last year proved, serving up more of the same in franchises such as "Rush Hour," "The Mummy," "Jurassic Park," "American Pie" and "Dr. Dolittle" means almost certain box-office success. Most sequels did huge business in 2001, with many taking in more money than the originals.
Sequels once were largely cheap, inferior knockoffs meant to turn a quick buck. Hollywood has learned that putting more care into follow-ups in many cases keeping the original cast and crew intact amounts to a license to print money.
"Sequels used to get a bad name as just rehashes," said Jeff Blake, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony. "The reason sequels now in most cases are outperforming the originals is that no corners are being cut on the 'Rush Hours' or 'American Pies.'"
Here are some of the highlights of Hollywood's 2002 film slate. Many films do not yet have specific release dates, and studio schedules are subject to change.
Winter and spring
"The Accidental Spy": Jackie Chan plays an ordinary guy who stumbles into the family profession espionage.
"Big Trouble": Tim Allen and Rene Russo head an ensemble cast in a comedy focusing on a mysterious suitcase. (April)
"Birthday Girl": Nicole Kidman is a Russian mail-order bride for lonely Brit Ben Chaplin. (February)
"Blade 2": The half-man, half-bloodsucker (Wesley Snipes) rises to battle a new breed of vampires. (March)
"Changing Lanes": Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson in the story of a fender-bender that leads to bad blood. (April)
"Collateral Damage": Arnold Schwarzenegger as a firefighter seeking revenge against a terrorist who killed his family. (February)
"Crossroads": Britney Spears moves closer to world domination as she expands into film. (February)
"Death to Smoochy": The fired star of a children's show (Robin Williams) schemes for vengeance. Danny DeVito directs. (March)
"Dragonfly": A widower believes his wife is sending messages from beyond. Kevin Costner stars. (February)
"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial": The little space guy returns in a 20th anniversary edition of Steven Spielberg's alien adventure. (March)
"Full Frontal": Steven Soderbergh's "unofficial sequel" to "sex, lies and videotape" features Julia Roberts and David Duchovny.
"Hart's War": Bruce Willis as a colonel plotting to escape a Nazi POW camp under cover of a military trial. (February)
"High Crimes": A lawyer (Ashley Judd) defends her husband in a war-crime trial. Morgan Freeman co-stars. (April)
"Ice Age": A computer-animated comedy about prehistoric creatures caught in the big freeze. Voices include Ray Romano and Jack Black. (March)
"John Q": Denzel Washington takes an emergency room hostage to get an organ transplant for his son. (February)
"Murder by Numbers": Homicide detectives (Sandra Bullock and Ben Chaplin) track a duo of brilliant killers. (April)
"The Panic Room": A woman (Jodie Foster) and her daughter hide from intruders in a secret chamber. Forest Whitaker co-stars. (March)
"Queen of the Damned": The late pop star Aaliyah stars as a vampire queen in the latest adaptation of Anne Rice's Lestat chronicles. (February)
"Rollerball": The update of the blood-sport flick stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. (February)
"The Rookie": An ex-minor league pitcher (Dennis Quaid) gets a second chance to aim for the majors. (March)
"The Scorpion King": The Rock is an assassin for hire in this ancient Egypt spinoff of "The Mummy Returns." (April)
"Showtime": A cop (Robert De Niro) and actor (Eddie Murphy) are paired in a reality-based TV show. (March)
"The Sweetest Thing": Cameron Diaz hits the highway in pursuit of her perfect mate. (March)
"Undisputed": Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames duke it out in a prison boxing drama.
"We were Soldiers": Mel Gibson in the story of an early Vietnam War battle. (March)
Summer season
"About a Boy": From the novel by Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity"), with Hugh Grant as a womanizer hitting on single moms. (May)
"The Adventures of Pluto Nash": Eddie Murphy's a lunar club owner of the future who takes on the moon mob. (August)
"Austin Powers in Goldmember": Yeah, baby! Mike Myers is back as the spy with really rotten teeth.
"Bad Company": Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock in a spy comedy about a street punk impersonating his slain secret-agent brother. (June)
"Blood Work": Clint Eastwood directs and stars in the story of a retired FBI profiler tracking a serial killer. (August)
"The Bourne Identity": Matt Damon is the amnesiac spy in this thriller based on Robert Ludlum's novel. (May)
"Buffalo Soldiers": Seedy dealings on an U.S. Army base just before the Berlin Wall falls. With Ed Harris, Joaquin Phoenix and Scott Glenn. (July)
"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood": An ensemble comic-drama with Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Ashley Judd and Maggie Smith. (July)
"Duplex": A black comedy with Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller as New York City tenants. Danny DeVito directs.
"Gangs of New York": Martin Scorsese's 19th-century mean-streets tale stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis. (July)
"Hollywood Ending": Woody Allen's new comedy, co-starring Tea Leoni, George Hamilton, Debra Messing and Treat Williams (May)
"The Importance of Being Earnest": Oscar Wilde's classic, with Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor and Reese Witherspoon. (May)
"Insomnia": Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank in a murder tale in rural Alaska. Christopher Nolan ("Memento") directs. (May)
"Men in Black 2": Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith fight an alien beast masquerading as a lingerie model (Lara Flynn Boyle). (July)
"Minority Report": Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg team for a sci-fi tale of psychic cops who arrest killers before crimes are committed. (June)
"Scooby-Doo": The live-action version of the cartoon stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar. (June)
"Signs": Mel Gibson is a farmer plagued by crop circles. From writer-director M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense"). (August)
"Spider-Man": Webmaster Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) takes on the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). With Kirsten Dunst. (May)
"Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones": All grown-up, the future Darth Vader takes baby steps toward the dark side. (May)
"Stuart Little 2": The rodent with Michael J. Fox's voice tries to rescue a pal (voiced by Melanie Griffith). (July)
"The Sum of All Fears": Ben Affleck won World War II in "Pearl Harbor." Now he foils World War III as Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan.
"Windtalkers": John Woo directs a tale about Navajo code-keepers in World War II. Nicolas Cage stars.
Fall and holidays
"Adaptation": Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep in the latest oddball collaboration by director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich").
"Analyze That": Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal and director Harold Ramis reunite for another mob couch trip.
"Assassination Tango": Robert Duvall is writer, director and star of this thriller about a hit man in South America.
"Catch Me If You Can": FBI guy Tom Hanks chases master deceiver Leonardo DiCaprio in Steven Spielberg's thriller.
"Chambermaid": Jennifer Lopez is a hotel maid who hooks up with a dashing politician.
"Chicago": The stage musical comes to the screen, with Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. (December)
"Cinderella Man": A Depression Era tale of a longshot boxer (Russell Crowe) facing champ Max Baer.
"City by the Sea": A detective (Robert De Niro) deals with his parental failure when his son becomes a murder suspect (September)
"City of Ghosts": Matt Dillon directs and stars in a tale of insurance partners on the lam overseas. James Caan co-stars.
"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind": George Clooney directs the "autobiography" of game-show guru Chuck Barris, who claimed to be a CIA operative. (November)
"Constantine": An occult tale adapted from the "Hellblazer" comic, with Nicolas Cage consorting with demons and angels to solve a murder. (December)
"Dark Blue": An L.A. police drama set days before the 1992 riots. With Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames. (September)
"The Farm": CIA honcho Al Pacino tries to keep a recruit (Colin Farrell) down on "The Farm," the agency's training ground.
"51st State": A comedy with Samuel L. Jackson as a chemist bungling through a designer-drug deal in England.
"Gods and Generals": An epic set in the early years of the Civil War, starring Robert Duvall. (September)
"Goodbye Hello": Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Jake Gyllenhaal in a drama about bereavement and renewal.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets": Harry and Voldemort, the rematch. Get in line now if you want to catch it on opening day. (November)
"Hope Springs": A Brit finds romance in America after his fiance dumps him. With Colin Firth, Heather Graham and Minnie Driver.
"The Hours": Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman in the interwoven story of three women.
"The Hunted": Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro in William Friedkin's cat-and-mouse thriller about a tracker and an assassin.
"I Spy": Secret agent Owen Wilson is teamed with cocky boxer Eddie Murphy on a mission.
"The Life of David Gale": A death-penalty opponent (Kevin Spacey) faces execution for murder. Kate Winslet co-stars.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers": Hobbit Frodo Baggins continues his quest to return an evil ring from whence it came. (December)
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico": Antonio Banderas returns as gunslinger El Mariachi. Salma Hayek co-stars.
"The Palace Thief": A literature professor (Kevin Kline) shares a lifelong connection with a difficult student.
"Perfect Stranger": An Internet thriller with Julia Roberts as an investigative reporter framed for a pal's murder. (December)
"Red Dragon": "The Silence of the Lambs" prequel brings Anthony Hopkins back as Hannibal Lecter. Edward Norton co-stars.
"The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause": Tim Allen returns as jolly old St. Nick, who must find a bride by Christmas Eve. (November)
"Shanghai Knights": "Shanghai Noon" sequel sends Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson to England.
"Star Trek: Nemesis": Patrick Stewart and the starship Enterprise find danger on a mission with the Romulans.
"Sweet Home Alabama": Reese Witherspoon as a fashion designer confronting her redneck past Down South.
"Swept Away": Madonna stars in and hubby Guy Ritchie directs a remake of the Italian castaway romance.
"Treasure Planet": A sci-fi animated variation on "Treasure Island." Voice talent includes Emma Thompson and Martin Short. (November)
"Tuck Everlasting": A teen-age girl finds refuge with the mysterious Tuck family. With Sissy Spacek, Ben Kingsley and William Hurt.
"24 Hours": Charlize Theron and Courtney Love in a kidnapping-hostage thriller.
"White Oleander": A teen struggles in foster homes after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is imprisoned. (October)
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