Despite the rise of movie piracy with the changes in technology, the summer box office has risen above $4 billion dollars domestically for the first time in history. The closest time had been 2004 $3.95 billion.

While this might give a proper ho-ha for Hollywood, there is a gray color to this typically silver cloud – with much of the record-breaker being attributed to ”three-quels”, the new lingo for third sequels, possibly not in a trilogy.

“Hollywood will likely put out more sequels given the success this summer,” Media by Numbers President Paul Dergarabedian said. “There’s a comfort factor with sequels for audiences. They know what they’re getting.”

Ugh. And I thought these three-quels were the death knell of the franchises. Let’s paint by the numbers: Pirates of the Caribbean looks good for a fourth installment, though it will quite likely be one without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, Sam Raimi’s capacity in a fourth Spider-Man is questioned, potentially jeopardizing Tobey Macguire and Kirsten Dunst’s, Shrek has a Christmas special, but the third flick underwhelmed critic, and while Bourne still retains its cast and crew, its run out of Ludlum novels (the author died in 2001).

Now, admittedly, there are exceptions. Everyone wants to see more Transformers, more Batman, more Harry Potter. But the notion that Hollywood must rely on steam-building three-quels in order to sustain this record is a troubling one. Especially in the face of Superbad’s monsterous success at theatres, it was thought that audiences tired of the franchises – and now movie execs are saying that’s not the case.

What will happen if Hollywood pulls in the opposite direction of what the movie-goers themselves want? Maybe another record-breaker – maybe in the opposite direction.