Movie sequels have existed since the popularization of motion pictures. However, the past few years have been filled with recycled and tired story plots. Recently, movie sequels have been rampant within the media sphere; Inside Out 2, Beetlejuice 2, Despicable Me 4, Deadpool 3, Joker 2, and Dune: Part Two have all been released in the past year.
As audience members and consumers, we deserve more original storylines. Of course, general audiences want to revisit their favorite characters and check in, but I feel there are limits to this connection to film characters, and there can only be so many spin-offs or alternative multiverses.
Since the pandemic, 48 percent of adults reported attending at least one arts event from July 2021 to July 2022, according to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. The survey in 2017 was six points higher, meaning fewer people are going out to the movies. This drop, combined with the rise of streaming services, shows how movie theaters are dying.
Production companies can no longer count on DVD or VHS sales as another stream of revenue along with the opening weekend box office sales. They are less likely to take creative risks of any kind when these risks can throw millions of dollars down the drain.
In 2023, despite sequels only making up under 5% of the movies released, they collected 45.8% of the cinema box office, according to the website Stephen Follows. The addition of new stories and characters to enjoy, such as The Holdovers, Fall Guy, Lisa Frankenstein, or Bottoms shows there are still creators out there focused on originality. However, these movies rarely make a profit.
Fall Guy, starring critically acclaimed actors Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, was a massive flop. It included a large promotional campaign and the movie itself was action-packed. However, movies are only considered a success if they double their budget in profit. Fall Guy wasn’t even close to that label. When Hollywood finally gave an original story plot, it bombed. No wonder these companies continue to push sequels when it provides them with easy revenue. This trend further shows that the reality of recycling movies exists, and will continue to exist until the franchise, taken advantage of by power-hungry companies, dies off.
However, The Holdovers, an unlikely success within the movie industry, proves that original stories can be a hit with modern audiences. This free-of-franchise movie was incredibly popular even while having an independently funded 13-million-dollar budget, it was nominated for several Oscars and prestigious awards.
If audiences aren’t granted unique blockbusters and first-of-its-kind movies, we at least deserve more widely released low-budget films, instead of nothing original. As a society, the media we consume is very critical to our everyday lives. If everything is recycled and done for profit, what does that mean for the future of film? As The Holdovers director Alex Payne said, “Freedom lies in lower budgets.”
