To be continued.
Once the dreaded endline of TV shows like “Saved by the
Bell.” Now the unwritten decree for Hollywood films.
These days, it seems that every movie is made to have a sequel.
Whether it’s the latest action flick or horror film or the
year’s top drama, there is an incessant open-endedness to
many recent Hollywood endings.
In 2003, Hollywood set the precedent for the current fad by
releasing 25 sequels and prequels in the span of 12 months, from
“Pokemon Heroes” to “Bad Boys II.” And the
trend has not since died.
But while the expectation for sequels may be common among
today’s moviegoers, the sequel itself is not a new
invention.
According to Jonathan Kuntz, a UCLA film history professor,
sequels have their roots in the classic film era.
“Sequels have been popular since the earliest days of
Hollywood because Hollywood is always looking for something
that’s a sure thing or that is predictable in the
marketplace,” he said.
However, it was not until the 1970s and ’80s with films
such as “Star Wars,” “Jaws” and
“Rocky” that film sequels became prominent in the
American market. And even then, they were often, with a few
exceptions, mediocre clones produced by lesser filmmakers that
failed to book the key cast members of the originals.
Studios have since discovered that maintaining a cast, director
and production team is imperative to the success of the Hollywood
franchise. Examples include the enormously successful star-driven
“Matrix,” “Men in Black” and
“Charlie’s Angels” franchises.
“Often, fans are diehards and willing to spend money on
anything incorporating the characters they love,” said Katy
Spears, a graduating communication studies student.
As classic films are remade, comic books and TV shows adapted,
and film franchises expanded, creativity is taking the backseat to
profitability.
“As the results too often reveal, playing it safe is the
most hazardous thing you can do in showbiz,” said Richard
Walter, UCLA screenwriting professor.
Most recently, though, selected sequels, such as Sam
Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2″ and Bryan Singer’s
“X2,” have proven to be just as successful and
well-made as their predecessors. With ever-improving special
effects and dedicated directors, the franchise can take risks,
establish an audience, and then take further risks with the next
installment.
“They can take the things that worked from part one,
amplify them and get rid of the things that didn’t,”
argued Kuntz.
However, much of a franchise’s success involves
marketing.
“Hollywood sees a kind of synergy going on between the
publicity and the promotion they pour into the first film that can
be built on for part two, part three, and so on,” said Kuntz.
“They can create a whole event that can last not just for one
release, but for several.”
For example, over $300 million was put into Peter
Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy before the
first even entered theaters.
According to a sequel report produced earlier this year by
Screen Digest, annual box-office sales per year stands at $1.9
billion for sequels in the 2000s, compared to $718 million in the
1990s. The highest grossing franchise, “Star Wars,” has
earned almost $2 billion with the recent release of the sixth
film.
In addition, action and science-fiction films are the most
sequel-prone genres, largely due to their teenage and young-adult
target audience.
Nearly every UCLA student has gotten swept up in sequel mania at
least once during his or her time in college. Like many others,
Nupur Gupta, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental
biology student, is intrigued by the franchise phenomenon.
“You see an entirely different approach to something you
really like,” she said.
Meanwhile, sequels to classic animated features, such as
“The Land before Time,” “Lion King” and
“Aladdin,” have also applied the “more is
better” philosophy in the children’s films arena. The
“Harry Potter” films, originally targeted toward
children, but appealing to all ages, is the most recent testament
to the success derived from younger audiences.
“They’ve got a sure thing with “˜Harry
Potter,'” said Kuntz. “They’ve got a
built-in audience and they know that the film’s going to be a
success. They can put anything up there and the first few
weeks’ business would be pretty good until people caught
on.”
Still, for the average moviegoer, there remains the constant tug
between investing in a sure thing and trying something new.
“Don’t get me wrong; I am really excited about
“˜Batman Begins’ and I loved the “˜Harry
Potter’ movies. But films with originality are a breath of
fresh air for me and I am much more inclined to see them in the
theaters,” Gupta said.
For Hollywood, though, originality is not at the top of the
priority list. A sure thing is often a good thing.
As Kuntz puts bluntly, “The fans already know what they
want.”