Financial Analyst Says Hollywood Sequels and Remakes Are Finally Getting "Played Out"

[Jay Beezy]

Also, relative to its predecessor, John Wick 2 I could see doing well.

 

[Rocketman]

Jupiter Ascending was on the right track, it just wasn't a great movie. But overall, I'm crossing my fingers on more stuff like that in terms of originality.

And as far as unoriginal movie properties being created, the 2000's has seen Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent, all with successful sequels. So there ARE new properties being created, they're just not our cup of tea. I'll throw The Matrix and Lord of the Rings in there too. And Pirates of the Caribbean.

Sequels are okay. That's the whole goal of Hollywood, and it's what we want. We just want them to be good.

 

[Rocketman]

The problem is, there's no chance in hell we'll ever see a movie like Forrest Gump again, or Pulp Fiction, or Shawshank Redemption, or Good Will Hunting, or Silence of the Lambs. That era is long gone.

 

[Jay Beezy]

Here's the thing. The reason studios prefer sequels over original films is that to them, from a business standpoint, original films are throwing new things at the wall to see what sticks. They want franchises because they want something that they know will stick. But more often than not, they get the wrong idea and think something that stuck once will stick again.

 

[Teelie]

The problem is, there's no chance in hell we'll ever see a movie like Forrest Gump again, or Pulp Fiction, or Shawshank Redemption, or Good Will Hunting, or Silence of the Lambs. That era is long gone.

I don't think so. Their time in the light is over but like all things it will come around again. We have resurgences of various genres as one gets stale or something better shows up. That is why we periodically get bumps with vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. then a bunch of romance movies or over the top action movies or some other genre takes up the spotlight until something new comes along. It's a cycle and sequels are interspersed in it.

Superhero movies have finally become viable and profitable so they are being done to the point of saturation. Before this new golden age of comic book movies we had Superman, Batman and a very minor Blade franchise as successful comic book movies. Almost everything else failed to make a mark (the Punisher movies, Tankgirl, Dredd, Fantastic Four, the 1970's Spider-Man movie, etc) so we're being overrun with sequels and spinoffs and a shared universe that blurs the line between sequel and spinoff.

Although it's doubtful we'll see a Western or Pirate era again it does not mean we won't get some of them every couple of years. The same goes for every other genre.

 

[DyeLorean]

If I was the head of a studio, I would have big franchises to keep financing the mid-budget/original films. At some point, if a movie is good, it will find its audience. On theater, or on dvd/blu-ray or even on Netflix. If all studios want is to make money no matter the product, we are doomed.

 

[Greens]

The problem is, there's no chance in hell we'll ever see a movie like Forrest Gump again, or Pulp Fiction, or Shawshank Redemption, or Good Will Hunting, or Silence of the Lambs. That era is long gone.

You're casting a very wide net there. Comedies, crime movies, dramas and thrillers are still being made. Inception had a huge cultural impact and that was an original (yeah, yeah, Donald Duck) movie. Scorsese is still going strong with The Wolf of Wall Street, Tarantino with Inglourious Basterds (his best movie since Pulp Fiction), Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight.

 

[Teelie]

If I was the head of a studio, I would have big franchises to keep financing the mid-budget/original films. At some point, if a movie is good, it will find its audience. On theater, or on dvd/blu-ray or even on Netflix. If all studios want is to make money no matter the product, we are doomed.

Movies are primarily made to make money. Bottom line is always money. It is when they sacrifice artistic vision, freedom of the director, the writers, the actors and so on and begin dictating certain scenes, characters or stories be written that we see a steady decline in the quality of a movie.

 

[2kt09]

Movies are primarily made to make money. Bottom line is always money. It is when they sacrifice artistic vision, freedom of the director, the writers, the actors and so on and begin dictating certain scenes, characters or stories be written that we see a steady decline in the quality of a movie.

The bottom line is why that even occurs. The more money invested, the heavier the studio mandates. The more test audiences and the 4 quadrant approach matters.
You reduce that bottom line and the risk is lower (while the filmmakers get to take almost all the risks) and the reward is higher.

Goes back to Blumhouse and the modern horror genre.

 

[terry78]

Creativity is only welcome in indie films nowadays, where there is no reason to play by the rules for fear of losing funding.

 

[2kt09]

When Hollywood realizes how bad this is by having Star Trek Beyond spend 2 ads highlighting its Rotten Tomatoes Score.

 

[jmc]

Creativity is only welcome in indie films nowadays, where there is no reason to play by the rules for fear of losing funding.

There's no reason you can't make inexpensive movies with wide appeal. Deadpool is the perfect example of what can be done on a tighter budget. Smaller budgets force creativity to solve problems. The major problem is studios are spending over $300 million on films and giving creative teams too much freedom. Bigger doesn't always mean better.

 

[Teelie]

When Hollywood realizes how bad this is by having Star Trek Beyond spend 2 ads highlighting its Rotten Tomatoes Score.

Or they finally realized it is as legitimate as highlighting a magazine or television critic's praise? Only by the dozen. Finger pointing at Rotten Tomatoes as some kind of desperate act is itself a desperate act to legitimize a claim.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Studios have been pushing Rotten Tomatoes in marketing for years now. I just have to go Wal-Mart and see all the Blu-Rays/DVDs with the little 'Certified Fresh' sticker on them.

 

[2kt09]

Wal-Mart DVD covers I get.
I genuinely didn't notice tv ads putting stock in RT scores.

Or they finally realized it is as legitimate as highlighting a magazine or television critic's praise? Only by the dozen. Finger pointing at Rotten Tomatoes as some kind of desperate act is itself a desperate act to legitimize a claim.

The point I was making.

 

[Doctor Jones]

This happens every year. People say the same thing. They'll get played out and it could be starting now, because we've never seen this many big movies flop or underperform in this new age of the blockbuster. The thing is, these movies can survive if they're all good, but that's just not gonna happen. That along with the fact that people don't just want to see these big movies, it's gonna play a part. Not now, but it's looking possible later on.

 

[LoganGambit87]

this is so dumb sequels and remakes are not played out

what is played out is terrible sequels and remakes

 

[MadVillainy]

I dont think there has been one non Disney company sequel that has made as much as it's predecessor this year. Save for BvS

Not all of them flopped but damn near all of them underpeformed