The science behind the movie sequel

They're seen as a low risk option rather than coming up with anything original.

But according to The Observer, this risk has gotten even lower thanks to a bunch of mathematicians who have come up with a formula to predict the fortunes of a sequel.

Up until now Hollywood moguls have been choosing which sequel to make purely by the performance of the first film.

But for every cash cow like Transformers 2 there's a disaster in the Speed 2: Cruise Control style.

So a more scientific method is needed.

Professor Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, from the Cass Business School, London, and his team have devised a way to calculate how much money a sequel will make by using factors such as whether key stars are still on board, and how long it has been since the last film.

They studied 101 movie sequels released in North America between 1998 and 2006 to formulate their creation.

And their first prediction is that Twilight: New Moon will be a success (well, duh...) and that it will make $267m in the US.

Not long now to find out if they're right.

You can find more about the wacky world mathematicians live in by visiting our sister blog Weird Science.