The film industry
has been around for decades yet there have certainly been some significant changes
made to the business as time has progressed. Viewing television and movies from
home has become more convenient and technologically advanced in recent years,
yet moviegoers still flock to the theatres in droves as much as than they did
in the past, if not more so. This raises the question as to why? With all of the recent changes in technology,
not to mention the fact that people can conveniently, albeit sometimes
illegally, stream films online before they are released, why are movie theaters
still filling up with people? It would appear that one of the leading reasons
is related to the fact that audiences easily associate a unique familiarity
with certain characters or stories. In other words, if an individual had their
initial viewing of a movie in the theatre, they are more likely to go back to
the theatre for a “spinoff”, sequel, or remake. “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Iron Man 2 are pushing Hollywood to
another record-breaking year at the box office” (The Wrap). People truly like to revisit the
characters and plots that they feel they can identify with and very often, they
like to revisit them in the place where they “met” for the first time. This
helps to explain why sequels, spinoffs and remakes were amongst some of the top
domestic grossing films of 2013. This is likely the leading reason that some of
the most anticipated films on the year 2014 include sequels and remakes.
A
recent list was published based on the “Top 25 Highest Grossing Films of 2013”,
and several of these titles are sequels and remakes. For example, sequels or remakes in the top 25
list include: Iron Man 3, The Hunger
Games 2, Despicable Me 2, Man of Steel, Monsters University, Fast & Furious
6, Oz The Great and Powerful, Star Trek: 2, The Hobbit, Great Gatsby, GI Joe,
and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
(Box Office Mojo). There is indeed something that all of these films have in
common. They have all been created on the basis of novels, earlier films,
whether remakes or sequels, and even television series.
Very
often, the common thread that links these box office sensations together is the
familiarity of the characters that audience may recognize due to their movie
prequel, comic books, and works of literature, television programs, and other
identifiable characteristics. “Movie heroes who
lifted ticket sales to a record in 2012, from Iron Man to Katniss Everdeen, are
set to carry Hollywood to another high next year” (Advertising Age). This is due to the fact that audiences
purchase tickets for the movies that they believe have something of a nostalgic
feel to them and again, they may want to go back to the venue where they
experienced the original. However, one
cannot ignore the fact that it is hard enough for moviegoers to wait upwards of
a year or more to see what happens to their beloved characters in a sequel, but
to have to wait an additional period of time for a DVD or pay per view release
is unacceptable and therefore ticket office sales go through the roof. For
example, Iron Man was first introduced by Marvel Comics in the year 1963, yet
this fictional character made a comeback in 2008, and again in 2009, and yet
again in 2013, and all three films were extremely successful. Man of Steel, based on Superman,
arguably the most well known fictional superhero of all time, did something
similar to Iron Man, as did GI Joe. The Hunger Games movies are
based on Suzanne Collins’ beloved book series, and the film adaptations are
just as popular as the books, if not more so, with the third installment of the
trilogy set to hit the big screen later this year. Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, Fast & Furious 6 and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, are
all continued stories of previous films as well.
Stark Trek: 2 was built on the foundation of one of
the most successful science fiction franchises of all time, which in earlier
years included an original series, an animated series, and a “new generation”
series, all before J.J. Abrams took over the recent film saga. As for The Hobbit, which is based on J. R. R.
Tolkien’s fantasy novel, audiences are taken back a step to learn about the
life of Bilbo Baggins before the Lord of
The Rings series occurred. Oz The
Great and Powerful was similar in the sense that it brought viewers back to
an earlier chapter in the life on the centralized character, Oz, in another one
of the most popular fantasy stories in the history of film.
This
only goes to show that audiences have a tendency to revisit the characters or
stories they are familiar with. Robocop, Annie,
Godzilla, three older films that are not necessarily within the same genre,
are all being remade and hitting the big screen this year. Haunted House 2, 300: Rise of An Empire, Rio 2, X-Men: Days of Future
Past, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Transformers 4, 22 Jump Street, How To Train Your
Dragon 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Expendables 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, Paranormal Activity 5, Horrible Bosses 2, Night at the Museum 3, Hot
Tub Time Machine 2, Dumber and Dumber 2 and Hunger Games: Mocking Jay- Part 1, are just a few of the many big
titles that will be released into the theater in 2014 (Movie Insider). Again,
these films all hold a similarity between them. The characters and stories
within these movies are easily recognizable, and even sometimes relatable, to
avid moviegoers.
Although
these familiar films are quite successful with bringing in audiences to the box
office, they are not always successful in terms of critic reviews. According to
Watch Mojo’s YouTube video titled “The Top 10 Worst Hollywood Remakes”, there
have been several movies that were remade, and disliked by the majority of
viewers. Yet, these films still did quite well in the box office. In 2005, Tim
Burton’s remake of Charlie & The Chocolate
Factory hit the big screen and grossed $206,459,076, the number 7 highest
grossing film of the year. Yet it made it's way on to “The Top 10 Worst
Hollywood Remakes” video, and received quite a bit of negative feedback amongst
those who grew up loving the original (YouTube). The Pink Panther was a very popular film in the early 1960’s, and
when it was remade in 2006, it made the “Top 100 Grosses” list for the year,
ranking at number 26 in terms of profit. But this remake was yet another to
make the Watch Mojo video (YouTube). It received negative reviews from fans,
and was averaged at a 22% by Rotten Tomato critics. But somehow, the filmmakers
went on to make a sequel to this film, which can only be credited to or blamed
on film buff’s love of the original 1963 movie.
In
1954, Godzilla was one of the most terrifyingly
exciting films to hit the big screen. For it’s time, the film was quite
successful; therefore it went on to be remade in 1998. The1998 film, which also
made the cut for “The Top 10 Worst Hollywood Remakes”, received weak reviews
from critics and audiences (YouTube). But the film still went on to gross
$136,314,294, and was the ninth highest grosser of the year. But with such
negative feedback from those who saw this film, why is it that the film is
being remade yet again this year?
It would appear that the household name “Godzilla” has become such a familiar
story, and the fire-breathing mutant lizard itself has become such a classic
film character in our society, therefore recreating this movie yet again will make
money for that very reason. New films containing elements of previous works
will take in a large amount of money when they hit theaters, because if an
individual feels that he or she enjoyed the original version of a film,
whatever form of media it may have been, then he or she will likely believe
that they will also enjoy whatever sequel, spinoff or remake the film industry
comes out with next.
Work Cited:
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways
From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The
Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
"2013 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 21 Feb. 2014. Web.
“Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,'
'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels.” Advertising
Age. Dec. 28, 2012 Web.
"Top
10 Worst Hollywood Remakes." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2011. Web.
16 Mar. 2014.
"Sequel
Movies 2014." Movie Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
I would much rather see a movie in theatres than home on my couch, and I would definitely spend the money rather than watch a movie online. I agree that many people will return to the movies to see a sequel because of the experience. I feel that a film series draws in a fan base, and it is a fun experience to watch a movie among fellow fans. In 2012, “sales at U.S. and Canadian theatres probably rose 5.7% to $10.8 billion this year, fueled by higher attendance, according to research Hollywood.com,” (Advertising Age). I think this increase has a lot to do with the sequels that hit theatres over the 12 months.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the “2013 Domestic Grosses,” it is no surprise that many of the top 100 movies are sequels. I agree that people are more likely to see a sequel in theatres because this is where the viewer was first introduced to the character. I think people enjoy reliving the experience, and seeing the characters on the big screen. People fell in love with the characters in movies like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Despicable Me 2, and Monsters University when they first saw the original film in theatres so creating a sequel is a way to continue the story and create a solid fan base. Similar to sequels, many books and television shows that have been made into movies tend to do well in theatres because the story is already well known and already has a following. “Major studios have relied on popular characters from books and comic to attract fans to films” (Advertising Age). Especially with stories, people love watching their favorite characters come to life, and especially with sequels, people feel that they are a part of the story as they watch the characters grow.
According to “This Was The Year That… We Got Psyched for 2014, And 2015…” film teasers are being released extremely early compared to the film release date. “Studios are colonizing far-future release dates with familiar brands to make it even easier: Star Wars: Episode VII (2015), Jurassic World (2015), The Amazing Spider-Man 4 (2018)” (Franich). I find that it is more effective to release a trailer for a sequel because the movie is already being anticipated. Showing a teaser for a movie years in advance that is not known already will not have the same effect, and people will most likely forget about the film. With sequels, people are already anxiously awaiting the upcoming film, and teasers keep people interested.
“While studios are making fewer films, they are focused on characters with global appeal that attract broad audiences. Action pictures, comedies and historical dramas all broke $100 million in sales during the past year, and theatre upgrades that include 3-D, digital projection and more comfortable seats have lured guests back” (Advertising Age). Movie theatres have added several perks that draw viewers into the theatre. Moviegoers are able to experience movies in a whole new way through 3-D films. People can have a more relaxing time at the theatre with the new comfy seats that recline.
Works Cited:
Franich, Darren. "This Was The Year That... We Got Pysched for 2014. And 2015...." Entertainment Weekly. 20 Dec 2013: n. page. Print.
"Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels." Advertising Age. (Dec. 28 2012): n. page. Print.
"2013 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. N.p., 21 Feb 2013. Web. 16 Mar 2014.
Heather Madore
ReplyDeleteKevin, I thought you made many great points in this post, especially with the concept of being very familiar with characters will make viewers more likely to go see a sequel. To be honest, I feel as though the reason remakes in particular are so popular all comes down to money. Studios want to make as much profit as they can. Although they make entertainment, movies are an industry. They want money. They don’t just remake any film or book. Studios pick books and films that have huge fanbases already. One example is the Hunger Games series. Just looking at book sales must make dollar signs in their eyes. According to Scholastic, there have been more than 65 million copies of the trilogy sold (The Hunger Games Trilogy). If every single one of those people goes to see the movie, then there’s a huge audience already. Eric Wold, when making his predictions for box office successes of this year, predicts
“Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar,” the Marvel Comics adaptation “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the young adult fantasy “Divergent,” which aren’t sequels, but have built-in fan bases of one sort or another” (Box Office: 2014 Will Likely Be Down, Because Not All Sequels Are Equals). Not only do sequels give an almost guaranteed audience, but so do remakes. Fans of an original series or film franchise will already be familiar with the characters, and interested to see how the adaptation or remake does in comparison. I know for myself, personally, half the excitement is to see if the film did the book justice or cut out a lot of parts. One of the most common things I heard about Catching Fire before I went to see it was that it followed the book very well. This only made me want to see it more. This anticipation, as you said, also boots sales, because people don’t want to be the last ones to see a movie. They want to go to the theatres because they need to see such popular films before the film gets ruined. With a series like “The Hunger Games,” if you haven’t gone to the theatre to see it, then you are literally not up to date with pop culture.
I think that looking at the top ten grossing films of 2013 just illustrates both the point I have made and the points you have made. Only two out of the top ten, “Gravity” and “Frozen,” were not sequels and/or remakes (2013 DOMESTIC GROSSES). I think that this proves that we are definitely in sequel culture right now. Although some may attribute this to a lack of creativity and a lack in generation of new ideas, I think it’s more because studios have found a formula that, for the most part, works. Rather than writing something new and having it flop, as was the case for of “Runner, Runner,” “After Earth,” “Elysium” and “Out of the Furnace,” (despite the fact that they had some of Hollywood’s best known actors) (6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops), studios are seeming to have more success in writing sequels, which would account for why there are so many right now.
To conclude, I just think people like things they are familiar with. Especially in our economy today, Americans want a sure thing. While there’s no such thing as a sure thing, we’re still more comfortable seeing a film that we already know and are likely to enjoy. As long as this is the current attitude, I forsee a lot of sequels and remakes in the future.
Works Cited
"2013 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 21 Feb. 2014. Web.
Cunningham, Todd and Brent Lang. "Box Office: 2014 Will Likely Be Down, Because Not All Sequels Are Equals." The Wrap 2 Jan. 2014. Web.
"The Hunger Games Trilogy." The Hunger Games. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, this is something I have questioned a lot, especially with the flood of remakes and sequels flooding the industry. It seems as though the production of movies is a bit out of whack. The industry seems to only be successful if they are either making a remake of a classic over and over again playing on what the audience is familiar with or scaring the pants off their audience members through horror films.
Stated with the “6 Box Office Takeaways from a Record Year of Hits and Flops” in regards to the success of horror films was “But the genre has become important in other ways. These films have some of the widest profit margins in the business, and are frequently produced for a fraction of what most films cost to make. Indeed, “Insidious” producer Jason Blum has become a phenomenon because of his low cost, high thrills formula and its being widely emulated throughout the industry.” The possibility that was also touched upon within this article was that the transformation has occurred that watching scary movies has moved from somewhat of a niche audience group to a social event of taking their friends of dates with them.
Just before I started writing this I saw two different trailers, both of which are sequels. I can also speak first hand on the account of the critics that you brought up within your piece that states that though these sequels especially based on comic strips or books are more common than not disliked by the “original fans”. Original meaning those who grew up reading the comics and following the story lines before a cinematic movie was ever a thought. The reason for this, which I have experienced firsthand, is that these fans are so loyal that they expect the film to follow the original story line and when they don’t or leave important aspects out, it’s disappointing. On the other hand, I know from a personal experience that I read the series from Suzanne Collins and just recently seeing the second movie, I was disappointed by the lack of what I considered important details but also understanding with the way in which it ended, which many were not because it was such a cliff hanger as well as inconclusive.
On one hand the industry has started to take the safe route in that why not go with what they already know the audience has responded well to already or grew up with. Remakes of originals such as Godzilla, where the opportunity for high quality effects was limited. On the other hand though, as a viewer there is some films I wished they would leave alone. “The constant barrage of remakes is starting to get a little bit tiresome and in the next few months alone, we can look forward to reboots of Conan The Barbarian, Fright Night, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Three Musketeers and Footloose.”(Shortlist.com)
The one aspect that the industry has not seemed to figure out though is the fine line of balance between the old and the new. The reason for which I stated in the beginning of this piece that the in industry seems to be out of sorts is that remakes are bombarding the audience members but new concept films are falling flat on their face.
Works Cited:
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
“20 Films You Probably Didn’t Know Were Getting Remade..and Probably Don’t Want to Know Either.” Shortlist.com. 18 Mar.2014.Web.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right in that Hollywood sequels are often points of success in the movie industry. If we just look at the big box office successes of 2013, “the top five films were all second go-rounds.” (Lang) Clearly, there is something about sequels that Hollywood has found great success in.
Your point about familiar characters keeping fans coming back to new installations of the series makes absolute sense. It is clear that Hollywood has picked up on this trend as well. “While studios are making fewer films, they are focused on characters with global appeal that attract broad audiences.” (Advertising Age) There is a huge value in investing in characters that appeal to large audiences. Audiences love characters, and Hollywood has figured out that they can capitalize on this by extending beyond single movies and creating series, which hopefully gains exponential box office success. In one movie we can see a good deal of character development, but in three movies we can see even more. The more time movies spend creating lovable characters, the more they can keep creating successful movies. Just because the plot of one installment in a potential series is finished, it makes no sense to not make a sequel if its predecessor was successful.
More often than not, these huge Hollywood series are adaptations off existing works such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy based off of J.R. Tolkien’s popular book series, or Marvel’s Iron Man based off the comics. It is evident that “major studios have relied on popular characters from books and comics to attract fans to films,” and this is a clever strategy. (Advertising Age) As noted before, there is value in creating lovable characters, but its even better if the characters already exist in a different medium. Hollywood’s role is to simply adapt existing works into films, and those who are previous fans of something like the Lord of the Rings books will be an easy target to persuade to see a film adaptation. Fans want to see their favorite books or comics become movies, or rather are curious enough to see the film adaptations. This is great for movie producers who already have a fan base before even releasing a movie.
If we just look at Marvels feat of building a huge franchise comprising of multiple series dedicated to their respective comic book, and then mixing those movies up in a movie that puts all of those characters together in “The Avengers,” it is no wonder why this model of integrating series with on another is a driver for success. The value is evident if we look at “Iron Man 3” and “Thor: The Dark World” in that, “those two movies delivered $1.8 billion at the box office this year, and provided millions more in momentum for the next year’s Marvel movies.” (Lang) Quite simply, it is a model for success, when your own movies can promote themselves and others contained within the same mega-series.
Clearly, series driven movie franchises are a common model nowadays for Hollywood film, and its no surprise why because of the success they bring, but that doesn’t mean the movie industry will abandon originality and creativity. Original films with only one installment, although less profitable of an investment, will still populate our theaters with great and original films. We will just see them in the future trying to compete with big series movies.
Works Cited
“Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels.” Advertising Age. Dec. 28, 2012 Web.
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "Box Office: 2014 Will Likely Be Down, Because Not all Sequels Are Equals.” The Wrap 02 Jan. 2014. Web
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
According to The Wrap, “Sequels drove this year’s box office — the top five films were all second go-rounds — and they’ll drive next year’s, too.” I think the reason for this is that these films have much more hype when entering theaters. If I see the first part of a movie series and enjoy it, it is almost a guarantee that I will return to theaters to see the subsequent pictures. I had to see every Lord of the Rings film in theaters because I wanted to return to that original experience with the characters and stories I had grown attached to. The same goes for books that are made into movies or movie trilogies. For any other film that is released, everything I know about it is solely from the trailer. However, if a book I have read is being made into a movie, I anticipate its release and would easily pay money to see it transition to the big screen. For example, I read the Hobbit and loved it, so when I heard it was being made into a movie I could not have been more excited to see the film adaptation in theaters. I had a similar experience with The Hunger Games; I was crazy about the books so I absolutely had to join everyone else and see it as soon as it was released in theaters.
ReplyDeleteBut above all else, the most important reason I return to see these movies in theaters is simply the experience. There is something priceless about seeing a film that’s important to you in a dark theater, on the big screen, with a community of people equally as excited as you. The Wrap claimed that this year’s ‘Gravity’ “reminded ticket-buyers about the power of IMAX and 3D, and horror movies proved that people prefer getting scared in packs.” While it might be nice to save a few bucks, you simply cannot match the picture size and clarity, powerful sound, or 3D effects of the movie theater. Nor can you replicate the feeling of sharing the emotional effects of a film with a community of people. Seeing the movie ‘Disturbia’ in a sold-out theater was one of my favorite movie-watching experiences. I could have enjoyed watching it at home, but it was much more fun with everyone in the theater screaming and jumping out of their seats together. Seeing Harry Potter in theaters was always fun as well, simply because everyone was so passionate about the films that they made the experience that much more exciting.
Movie genre plays a huge part in the experience as well and determines whether or not I will pay to see a film in theaters. The book-to-film series I previously mentioned (The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter) are pretty much made for the big screen; they have action-filled plot-lines, powerful scenery, combined with impressive cinematography and sound. I am much more likely to pay to see these type of films displayed on a huge screen with surround sound than I would, say, a romantic comedy.
It is important to note, however, that these types of films are also the ones that already have fans. The books themselves create a massive audience and ultimately lead to the creation of merchandise and ultimately the films themselves. Or, in the case of a regular sequel/trilogy, the movie is drawing in people who already watched the first film. Because these movies already have a following of dedicated fans, it makes sense that they would make more money than a regular film standing on its own.
Works Cited:
Cunningham, Todd and Brent Lang. "Box Office: 2014 Will Likely Be Down, Because Not All Sequels Are Equals." The Wrap 2 Jan. 2014. Web.
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
I really enjoyed reading your blog because what you had to say is all so true. Even though I watch movies on my computer all the time and even have access to stream illegally, I still go to the movies, but it is almost always to see a sequel. The only times I went to the movies in the past couple years were to see The Hunger Games movies, Twilight, Harry Potter, and the occasional romantic comedy. Each sequel that I would go and see had some reason behind it, mostly because it was a tradition with a specific group of people that we would always see them together, at midnight. For example, I always go to see the Hunger Games with my grandpa. We are attached to the characters and love getting the chance to do something together. I thought it was funny that you mentioned the Pink Panther in your blog because this is one of the remakes I went to with my grandpa when it came out because he had always loved the show, and wanted to see the remake with me.
ReplyDelete“While studios are making fewer films, they are focused on characters with global appeal that attract broad audiences” (Advertising Age, 2012). This statement goes right along with what I was saying about going to movies with my grandpa. Even though we have totally different lives, we come together every year for a movie that we both love and we get so excited for it every time. The heroes and characters like Katniss Everdeen appeal to everyone and have potential for such broad audiences, just as Advertising Age was saying. This idea also goes along with some of the Box-Office Takeaways from the year 2012. “The recipe for major box-office success traditionally has been to score with ‘four quadrants’– men and women, younger and older. But big screens have never been bigger than they were in 2013, and may be creating a ‘fifth quadrant.’” (Lang&Cunningham, 2012). Movies today really do appeal to everyone and I believe that is how they are getting people back into the theater. Apparently, 2014 is going to be not as great for the box office because there are not as many sequels as there were in 2013. But, there of course will be a come back when everyone’s favorite character comes back into the theaters.
I also enjoyed reading what you had to say about the upcoming remakes such as Godzilla. I remember seeing the 1998 remake of it and thinking it was absolutely terrible but I think that the one coming out later this year will still have major success. Godzilla has been a classic symbol of a horror movie for such a long time that again, people will feel attached and want to go see the remake. It also will really help that Bryan Cranston is in the leading role, and people will want to see his first appearance in a film since the end of Breaking Bad.
As you mentioned, it does not really matter what the critics say about sequels or remakes. People will flock to see them no matter what, and the major film companies know that, and that is why we have seen so many sequels and remakes in the past few years and why we should not expect it to stop.
Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.
Advertising Age. “Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With ‘Star Trek’, ‘Hobbit’, ‘Hunger Games’ Sequels Record 2012 Comes Despite Continued Improvements in Home Viewing.” Advertising Age 28 December 2012.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that you bring up how remakes of films are generally poorly received by critics, since I know even my own mother who grew up with films that have been remade over the last, let’s say 15 years or so, refuses to give the remakes a chance. I definitely think that these are geared more towards bringing in a new generation of fans to a story rather than trying to appease the original crowds. It seems like people generally prefer the version of a film they first see – look at The Parent Trap, a 1960s Disney movie that was remade with Lindsay Lohan in the 1990s. I saw the Lohan version first, and it appeals to me more than the original, but it doesn't necessarily make it a better film.
Hollywood Eyes acknowledges Disney as the “world’s largest entertainment company,” (Hollywood Eyes) and Disney is no stranger to producing sequels and building franchises prior to their acquisitions of Marvel and the Star Wars franchise. The Cunningham and Lang article states that “You can’t have a franchise without a successful second movie,” even though we saw this happening throughout the 90s at Disney when there were sequels being made to all of the biggest box office hits – Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc. but none of these were released in theatres. These films are also generally seen as poor films in the Disney fanbase due to lack of quality in the animation and rehashed storylines from the original films. Yet, all of the original movies, plus others I did not mention, are still considered franchises at Disney since there is merchandising for these films. Merchandising, in my opinion, can make or break a franchise.
Other companies however, have made franchises based off of subsequent films work quite well, including Disney’s Pixar company that has built a franchise out of Toy Story, including a total 3 films, Monsters Inc, and is now releasing a sequel to Finding Nemo. Not to mention the Cars franchise that turned into Planes, a film receiving a sequel of it’s own. (Cunningham)
Back to the thought of merchandising, the first original successful franchise of films is more than likely Star Wars. From what I have seen on That 70s’ Show and have heard from my family members, had a multitude of merchandise upon the release of the first film in the late 70s, and subsequent films came in the early 1980s and again in the late 1990s. Almost 40 years later from the original films’ release, “Star Wars 7” will be coming out (Cunningham), with the Disney name attached to it.
Disney also owns the Marvel franchise, including The Avengers, and all of the associated films (Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, etc.), which gross obscene amounts of money around the world. In 2012, The Avengers was the top grossing film in the world (Hollywood Eyes), and as of right now a sequel is planned and is in production (Cunningham), as well as additional movies for the characters involved in the action flick. Iron Man 3 was the top grossing film of 2013 (2013 Domestic Grosses), which demonstrates the power The Avengers/Marvel franchise truly has.
It’s also interesting to note that Fast & Furious 6, the sixth film in a franchise, was on the Top Grossing Films of 2013 list as well. I did a quick count of the Top 50 on the list, and from the films I was able to recognize, 23 of them were actually either part of a franchise, a sequel, or a remake of a past film. I’m not sure if this shows that in face Hollywood is running out of ideas, or they want to simply stick with what is bringing in the money – key franchises and timeless stories that they believe will resonate with audiences.
ReplyDeleteBuilding franchises contributes to success. I know personally one of the 2014 films I’m looking forward to the most is the fourth installment in the Michael Bay Transformers series, a franchise that has been around since the 80s and has been rebooted too many times to count. Again, Transformers is a great example of merchandising and how it has played into the franchise – all built around children’s toys and is now one of the biggest box office smashes in the world. The 2000s Transformers reboot, or even the new Smurf franchise, show that it’s never too late to continue with a franchise – as seen with the upcoming Dumb and Dumber sequel about to happen 20 years after the first film (Cunningham), as well as all of the remakes, such as the Johnny Depp flop The Lone Ranger, and the new Wizard of Oz related films.
Overall, it seems like franchises and remakes won’t be going anywhere soon, and a majority of these will do well at the box office.
-Christine
Works Cited:
Cunningham, Todd and Brent Lang. "Box Office: 2014 Will Likely Be Down, Because Not All Sequels Are Equals." The Wrap 2 Jan. 2014. Web.
"2013 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. Accessed 21 Feb. 2014. Web.
“Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Hobbit,’ ‘Hunger Games’ Sequels.” Advertising Age. 28 Dec. 2014. Web.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with this blog post and picked a very interesting topic. When it comes to the film industry, it is always interesting to see the differences when it comes to a squeal or a remake. When you have certain audiences, no matter what genre, people will always want to go back to see the next one. And you brought up a big point to why they go back. “It would appear that one of the leading reasons is related to the fact that audiences easily associate a unique familiarity with certain characters or stories” (Kevin).
When I took a look at “Top 25 Highest Grossing Films of 2013”, you see title after title of movies that are a sequel or remake. Just some examples, Iron Man 3, The Hunger Games 2, Despicable Me 2, Man of Steel, Monsters University, Fast & Furious 6, Oz The Great and Powerful, Star Trek: 2, The Hobbit, Great Gatsby, Grown Ups 2, The Wolverine, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Box Office Mojo). We see that all these movies have already made up fan bases. Whether the fan bases started from previous movies, novels, comics, or just a television series, people are willing to go see their characters and their plots thicken. Two great examples of this are The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hunger Games. Both of these movies had a fan base before it had made great box office openers. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey generated $84.6 million in opening weekend sales in the U.S. and Canada and The Hunger Games generated $152.5 million on its weekend debut, according to researcher Box Office Mojo” (Advertising Age).”
Then you really struck my nerd cords when you mentioned Iron Man. “For example, Iron Man was first introduced by Marvel Comics in the year 1963, yet this fictional character made a comeback in 2008, and again in 2009, and yet again in 2013, and all three films were extremely successful” (Kevin). Marvel itself is something that I have been big on for years and now with all the movies I have to see every single one of them. As a fan I am sometimes disappointed because the stories don’t always follow the comics, but the industry still knows how to keep me coming back for more. From personal experience I never saw Thor and Captain America in the movie theatres and regretted not going. So what did I do next? Well I went out and prepared for the next ones. I bought early tickets to The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World, and you can sure bet I am already awaiting ticket sales for Captain America: The Winter Solider. As a kid growing up and reading some of these comics it just gets you excited to see these characters now hit the big screens. You get to see new characters backgrounds and you get a whole new love for a character you already know.
It is no question that fan bases are what cause squeals or remakes in the film industry. Fans will always want to know more of the story and want the characters that they have known to grow more. So if you were Hollywood wouldn’t you keep giving the people what they want? Well they sure are and they will still continue to. Some future releases to come out are “X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Star Wars: Episode VII (2015), Jurassic World (2015), The Amazing Spider-Man 4 (2018) and even X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) ” (Franich). All these movies have fan bases already created and will have fans lining up at the box offices to seem them. I know I will personally be in line for a couple of them.
Work Cited
"2013 Domestic Grosses." Box Office Mojo. N.p., 21 Feb 2013. Web. 16 Mar 2014.
"Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels." Advertising Age. (Dec. 28 2012): n. page. Print.
Franich, Darren. "This Was The Year That... We Got Pysched for 2014. And 2015...." Entertainment Weekly. 20 Dec 2013: n. page. Print.
I will be the first one to say that I am not an avid movie theatre goer. More times than not I will see a trailer for a film that I want to see but will wait until it comes out on DVD, On Demand, or Netflix. Most of it stems from spending nearly $50 every time I do go to the movies on tickets, snacks, and beverages (I usually go with my girlfriend if we do decide to see a movie). Why spend that much money when I can pay $6 to see it at home?
ReplyDeleteSequels are a little bit different, I believe. Movies like the Hunger Games and Iron Man had a great deal of success because the characters, the plot, etc. but they were good movies. People expect that their sequels will be good as well. If not that they at least want to know what happens next in the overall story. A number of the films that came out in 2013 were sequels and “sales in the U.S. and Canada saw a 5.7% increase to $10.8 billion” (Advertising Age). Like I said, the fact that people want to know what happens next can be attributed to the increase in movie goers just as much as popular television shows like “The Walking Dead” or “Sons of Anarchy” have in recent years.
Marvel has the right idea. Super hero movies have been popular for a long time, and almost always expect a sequel. The Batman movies in the late 80’s were very popular even though they had three different actors play the role of Bruce Wayne. I think a lot of that has to do with who the villains in the films are, though. For instance, I am very excited about the new Amazing Spiderman 2 film with Jamie Foxx playing the role of Electro, an underrated character of the Spiderman franchise. Do not forget about ALL of the X-men movies that have come out in the past fifteen years. For all those that followed the comics or even the cartoon series that was aired on television during the late 90’s, they know that 2016 will be a big year for the X-men as the X-men: Apocalypse is set to hit the big screen (Franich). Fans of that cartoon series know what kind of character Apocalypse is and should expect a lot from the film. Nothing can compare, though, to how they handled The Avengers movies. They released films of Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and Thor, which all did well at the box office. Then they made The Avengers, which had a great deal of success. They have already completed the Iron Man trilogy, and have sequels to Captain America and Thor; they even have an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show spawned from these movies. Essentially, each one of these comic book characters can have their own trilogy, and then another Avengers trilogy. That would be 15 films all based of one group of comics. Based on the success of the Iron Man trilogy and the first Avengers movie, this is a no brainer for Marvel and Disney. With these films and then Star Wars: Episode VII set to come out in the next few years, it looks like I am going to have to pony up and make some trips to the theatre.
WORKS CITED
Franich, Darren. "This Was The Year That... We Got Psyched for 2014. And 2015..." Entertainment Weekly 20 Dec. 2013. Web
“Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels Record 2012 Comes Despite Continued Improvements in Home Viewing”. Advertising Age. 28 Dec. 2012. Web
Kevin, you made many intriguing points related to box office success of sequels and remakes. Personally, I enjoy watching movies on the big screen. Movie theaters have a particular atmosphere that makes it fun catching the next big blockbuster with your friends. Streaming has made it easier to watch any movie you want from your couch, but it just doesn’t feel the same as going to the theater. I believe the atmosphere of a movie theater is the biggest reason theaters are still filling up. You also made good points related to movie sequels and remakes. Whenever I see a movie I like, I instantly become submerged in its plot and characters. People who like original films will go watch sequels and remakes because they feel like they have to. Nobody wants to miss a sequel because they don’t want to feel left out, and no one misses a remake because they feel so tied to the plot and characters. Film series’ create fan bases and with so many being released this past year, it is not surprising sales have risen from $5.7 billion to $10.8 billion this year. (Advertising Age) A big part of this increase is due to some of the sequels that hit theaters this year. Movies like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Oz the Great and Powerful, Iron Man 3, and The Hobbit all came out this past year and all of these movies have huge fan bases. I wouldn’t be surprised if sales rise in 2014 with over twenty new sequels and remakes expected to drop this year.
ReplyDeleteKevin, you also brought up pretty good points related to the critics and attention these movies receive. I believe as long as an original movie is good, a remake or sequel is most likely to follow. Even if the movie is bad, chances are it will make a lot of money in the box office. An example of this was Tim Burton’s remake of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Being a huge fan of the original, I thought the remake was awful and overdone. The movie even made “The Top 10 Worst Hollywood Remakes” despite the movie being the seventh highest grossing film of that year. (Youtube) Like you said in your blog, “People truly like to revisit the characters and plots that they feel they can identify with and very often, they like to revisit them in the place where they ‘met’ for the first time.” It’s true that I only went to see the remake because I loved the original so much and felt obligated. I believe in order to truly be a fan of a series you have to watch its characters grow, and the only true way of doing that is watching all sequels and remakes no matter how bad they can be. Studios and moviemakers are figuring the business out and they have stopped making new movies fearing they will flop. Instead, these studios are working on movies with past success and growing fan bases. (6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops)
In conclusion, I believe people will always gravitate to sequels and remakes because they are familiar with them. Despite technological innovation, movie theaters will remain popular since they create an atmosphere that cannot be experienced on a couch or on a laptop. I expect movie sales to rise again with the number of sequels set to be released in 2014.
Works Cited
1.) "Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels." Advertising Age. (Dec. 28 2012): n. page. Print.
2.) "Top 10 Worst Hollywood Remakes." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
3.) "The Hunger Games Trilogy." The Hunger Games. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .Lang, Brent and Todd Cunningham. "6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops." The Wrap 22 Dec. 2012. Web.