“Right now, Jim has four sequels. And he’s trying to make it into three. That is where I think his effort is going right now. To keep it to three sequels.” James Horner there, Oscar-winning composer of the scores for Titanic and Avatar, discussing James Cameron’s efforts to keep the number of Avatar sequels he plans to film all at once down to a nice manageable three. Three. Only someone with the almost despotic self-belief of James Cameron would consider filming three sequels back-to-back.

Sigourney Weaver back from the dead in all three Avatar sequels Read more

Nevertheless, the man responsible for the two most financially successful films of all time isn’t the only one planning to take on the Herculean task of filming numerous epics at once. Following Age of Ultron’s inevitable success and Joss Whedon’s departure from the franchise, the Russo brothers, who will be taking over the affairs of all things Avengers after completion of the next Captain America film, plan to film two further sequels simultaneously. Financially, this obviously makes sense: the amount of cash needed to get the wheels spinning on projects like these is vast. Making twice the profit for less than double the initial outlay is a no-brainer. The problem is, with regards to the quality of the films themselves, more often than not it all tends to go a bit tits up.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Matrix Revolutions, which was filmed directly after The Matrix Reloaded. Photograph: The Kobal Collection

One of the most high-profile misfires were the Wachowskis’ much-anticipated Matrix sequels. Almost entirely bereft of the syrupy mystery and what-the-hell-was-that magic of the original, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions bogged the efficient ideas of the first down with portentous cod-philosophising and the inescapable sense that there simply wasn’t enough story to be stretched across two huge movies. The sequels were spectacular, certainly, but with the best will in the world, comparatively soulless.

The blockbuster's in decline – here's how to save it Read more

Almost exactly the same can be said of the first two stultifyingly rotund Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. Even more so than The Matrix perhaps, the simu-filmed sequels’ narratives were disengaging at best and, at worst, at the apogee of the exact meeting point between incomprehensible and duller than a birdwatcher’s dishwater. Even Johnny Depp looked as though he didn’t know what was going on, and he was paid handsomely to do pretty much the opposite.

What unites these examples though, besides narrative guffery, is that they were both huge financial successes. The Matrix sequels grossed almost $1.17bn between them according to BoxOfficeMojo; the Pirates’ a whomping great $2.03bn. So, in these instances, whether you think filming back-to-back works depends largely on whether you’re a financier of huge tentpole blockbusters or not.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peter Jackson shot the Lord of the Rings trilogy in one go. Photograph: Everett/REX Shutterstock

Peter Jackson began shooting all three of his Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) movies at once in 1999, and he’s got a shelf groaning under the weight of a billion Oscars to support his opinion that he did a good job. LOTR was a risk – not the surefire bets that sequels to explosively successful originals are – but it is essentially one long story, and having the actors and crew take a two-year break between instalments wouldn’t have worked.

Cutting The Hobbit down to size: no dwarf-elf flirting, no albino orcs Read more

Peter Jackson’s problems only began when he tried to repeat his commendable feat with The Hobbit. Like flabby grey cakes, they succumbed to the same pratfalls as The Matrix and Pirates: enough narrative plot-points for one film, spread out like service stations across the featureless motorways of several. The Hobbit films, to date, have grossed over $2.9bn. Because the world is a stupid, stupid place.

In recent years, there’s also been a growing tendency to split single films – usually the final parts of huge franchises – in two. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight all did this, were all massive financial bonanzas, and for some reason were also quite good. Whether the double finale is a better experience for the fans or a cynical ploy to squeeze more cash out of them is up to you. Either way, their critical as well as fiscal success may be due to the fact they are, like LOTR, one long story. Perhaps it’s the hubris or panic that comes with the idea of filming numerous movies at once that causes film-makers to drop the ball. Even Robert Zemeckis admitted that wrestling with Back to the Future’s second and third parts simultaneously meant he “wasn’t able to really fine-tune Part II the way it should have been”.

All this bodes fairly poorly for the Avengers. Considering how all the Marvel movies to date have been standalone and, perhaps coincidentally, good, filming back-to-back seems like an odd decision – a pretty good way of rounding off a trilogy with a baggy, odorous pair of duds. Still, you never know. It does seem like Marvel simply refuses to make bad movies nowadays, which is encouraging.

The same can’t be said of James Cameron, though he does obstinately refuse to make unsuccessful ones. It might be worth sticking a tenner on his Avatar threequels nudging The Avengers, Harry Potter and Fast & Furious 7 out of the highest grossing films of all time list, giving him the top five all to himself.