Franchises: Why They Matter
The film industry is vastly different from how it was when it started. Instead of the box office being the only thing between you and a movie, it's now just one of dozens of ways you can check out the latest FAST AND FURIOUS. This is becoming increasingly problematic for Hollywood, since almost all of those ways involve you staying in the comfort of your own home and NOT buying movie tickets.
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The film industry certainly isn't going out of business, but it does have to be mindful of where the money goes (more than ever before!). Because risk-taking has become so dangerous to making profits, Hollywood pumps tons of money into the stuff that audiences LOVE, that GUARANTEES profit.
This results in...FRANCHISES!
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Films that sell well often end up getting sequels that have bigger budgets. Before you know it, you've got a slew of films that share characters, universes, and overarching stories.
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Consider: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
The success of Iron Man (2008) made it possible for Marvel Studios to create more films with their characters and shared universe. The result of this was immense success for Marvel Studios, and 14 films later they've earned over $4 BILLION in box office revenue off of the MCU films alone.
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What's the benefit of these kinds of movies? What if you're someone who's not looking forward to yet another Transformers or superhero movie?
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Well, these kinds of projects earn the money that allows studios to make more risky films. Did you like Get Out? That directorial debut for Jordan Peele only cost around $5 million to make, which is a far cry from Guardians of the Galaxy's $232 million budget.
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So: next time you see the announcement of a reboot, remake, or yet another sequel in a series of movies that you might think died years ago, think about how much money these movies make in comparison to other movies.
Think about how, if you were in charge of making money for a studio, you might rely on big budget projects to keep the bills paid and keep making the other, smaller movies!
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