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20th Century Fox<\/p>\n
Before Alexandra Daddario vacationed at “The White Lotus,” survived disaster in “San Andreas,” and got tangled up with a cop’s mid-life crisis in “True Detective,”<\/a> she wielded the powers of Olympus. One of the actor’s first major big-screen roles was Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, in “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” (released in 2010) and its sequel, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” (released in 2013).<\/p>\n Though she doesn’t have the flashier powers of some of the other demigods, Annabeth far outpaces them intellectually thanks to the abilities handed down from her mother. And when you’re battling tricky supernatural monsters or caught up in a web of Olympian scheming, brains can often be more important than brawn.<\/p>\n Based on the books by Rick Riordan, the “Percy Jackson” movies emerged during Hollywood’s search for the next “Harry Potter” and slightly before Hollywood’s search for the next “Hunger Games.” Though they received mixed reviews from critics, “The Lightning Thief” and “Sea of Monsters” were among the more successful YA fantasy movies to emerge from this era (they certainly did better than, say, “The Seeker” or “Seventh Son”).\u00a0<\/p>\n The franchise was recently revisited with a TV adaptation, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” created for Disney+<\/a>. Perhaps because of a boost from that show, or perhaps simply thanks to nostalgia, the “Percy Jackson” movies have soared since being added to Netflix earlier this month. Per FlixPatrol<\/a>, “The Lightning Thief” is currently the No. 1 kids movie streaming on Netflix, and No. 2 among movies overall. “Sea of Monsters” is at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, on the same charts<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Percy Jackson & the Olympians launched Alexandra Daddario into the spotlight<\/p>\n
20th Century Fox<\/p>\n One element that “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” had on its side in its efforts to be the latest hit magical-boy movie franchise was director Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two “Harry Potter” movies. “Sea of Monsters” was directed by Thor Freudenthal<\/a>, who’d previously directed a film about a not-so-magical boy,\u00a0“Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”<\/p>\n
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