Box Office: Revenge of the Franchises

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As a film critic with over 30 years of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all, from the classics to the catastrophes. But some franchises just refuse to die, no matter how many times they get resurrected like a certain vampire crow.

Franchises play a dual role in Hollywood’s success story. They can captivate audiences for extended periods – think James Bond, Batman, Star Wars, Mission: Impossible, Superman – as long as all elements align perfectly. However, eventually, the excitement wanes and questions about originality might arise.

In contrast to the norm, the summer box office of 2024 stood out as an unexpected case. For the first time in quite some time, “franchise” was no longer considered a negative term, according to a high-ranking executive at a major studio. These popular titles significantly contributed to the total domestic earnings, which exceeded $5.4 billion by the weekend of September 6th-8th. Although this figure is approximately 13% lower than that of the previous year, it surpasses predictions for this stage in 2024, indicating a more promising trend than initially anticipated.

The turn of events started post a challenging month of May, where ‘The Fall Guy’, a new addition to the franchise, failed at the box office and was followed by the disappointing performance of ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ ($172 million worldwide), which had built on the success of the series revival with ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ ($380 million) in 2015. However, the only positive note from May was ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’, one of many film properties that Disney’s film division took over following their acquisition of Fox assets in 2019.

The film “Apes” served as a significant benchmark following the Disney merger, and it proved successful; earning approximately $400 million worldwide, which enabled filmmaker Wes Ball to realize his vision of a new trilogy. Similarly, the release of “Alien: Romulus” in August also demonstrated the strength of the 20th Century-Disney partnership, with the movie bringing in over $300 million globally (the second highest grossing film in the franchise after 2012’s “Prometheus”, unadjusted for inflation).

The strong resurgence in box office earnings started in early June, marked by Sony’s fourth installment of “Boys: Ride or Die” outperforming expectations. This was a promising sign of better times to follow. In mid-June, “Inside Out 2” boosted Pixar’s presence with an unprecedented opening and eventually becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever ($1.675 billion worldwide), ranking as the 8th highest-grossing movie of all time between “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.926 billion) and “Jurassic World” ($1.672 billion). Paramount continued its “Quiet Place” series with “Day One,” earning $261 million, while Warner Bros. launched a new cast for “Twisters” that grossed $366 million.

According to box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian, most studios exceeded their box office projections for a variety of films across different classifications and genres during the remainder of the summer. Disney led the pack with hits like Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Alien Romulus. Universal enjoyed success with Despicable Me 4 and Twisters. Paramount saw impressive earnings from A Quiet Place: Day One and managed to recoup their initial investment for IF despite a lackluster opening weekend, ultimately earning over $100 million. Sony rounded off the summer with hits such as Bad Boys Ride of Die, which narrowly missed reaching $200 million domestically, and the late-summer sensation It Ends with Us.

Discussing Marvel Studios’ collaboration between Deadpool and Wolverine, this film has been a significant boost for Kevin Feige’s superhero production house. It ranks as the second highest-grossing movie of the year with over $1.287 billion in box office earnings, regardless of how you look at it. In just a few short months, Disney – the studio renowned for its franchise-based success – has once again outperformed its competitors after relinquishing its top spot to Universal last year in an unexpected decline. Disney’s movies accounted for $1.5 billion in summer domestic box office ticket sales, or approximately 42%. Disney insiders are particularly proud of titles like Apes and Aliens because these were properties acquired from 20th Century Fox, which presented more challenges to revive older brands with less of a pre-existing fanbase compared to something like Deadpool.

Warner Bros. unveiled an exceptional September blockbuster, with Tim Burton’s movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” raking in a total of $147 million worldwide following its release on September 6th. In the pipeline for the studio is another potential franchise contender: the musically inclined sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux”, set to premiere on October 4th and projected to generate an opening of around $70 million. However, it has a tall order to fulfill given that Todd Phillips’ “Joker” made a staggering $1.07 billion globally in the year 2019.

Blockbuster IP Buzz-O-Meter

A review to identify movie franchises that may not be fully utilized, excessively shown, or long-overdue for a return to cinemas. Written by Borys Kit and Aaron Couch.

1. Star Trek

After the 2016 film “Star Trek Beyond” failed to impress with a global box office earnings of $343.5 million, Paramount has come up with at least four different ideas for new installments but none have been produced yet. Instead of taking such risks, they could focus on creating a more emotionally engaging story like the relatively low-budget “Wrath of Khan” (1982).

2. Terminator 

2019’s “Dark Fate” wasn’t saved, even by the comeback of James Cameron and Linda Hamilton. However, the fresh Netflix anime titled “Terminator Zero” hints at a potential successful film if they try something innovative with the storyline.

3. Reign of Fire

Although the 2002 film starring Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey initially failed to impress audiences, it eventually developed a dedicated fan base. With the actors reuniting, this becomes a fusion of “The Last of Us” and “Game of Thrones,” set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with dragons.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean

The pirates had already been at the bottom of the sea before the release of 2017’s “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. A new story would have to be started anew, but audiences always enjoy a good seaborne adventure.

5. Conan the Barbarian

Might Arnold Schwarzenegger’s upcoming elderly Conan film serve as the equivalent of “Logan” for the franchise?

6. Spawn

Redeeming oneself from wrongdoings and battling obstacles to reach the affection of your heart’s desire are timeless ideas. It seems that the R-rated film being produced by Blumhouse has been under production since 2017, leaving us wondering why the delay.

7. Lethal Weapon

Friend, let’s think about refreshing the idea behind Lethal Weapon: Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s characters are approaching retirement age, as Roger Murtaugh might say, they’re getting too old for high-octane police work. Instead of having them adopt a new generation or replacing them, how about starting a fresh cop action series? Agreed?

8. Halloween

An unstoppable masked killer is a primal modern fear. Kudos to recent trilogy director David Gordon Green for making Michael Myers scary again. But after nearly 50 years (the first movie came out in 1978), isn’t it time for something new?

9. The Matrix

The original movie was one of the most impactful box-office hits ever made. Since then, its profits have been decreasing, and even the 2021 follow-up, titled Resurrections, which reunited the main cast, did not strike a chord with viewers. I kindly ask you to refrain from rephrasing this statement.

10. The Crow

Hey, Crow license owners, it’s time to cut the ties. After numerous attempts over the years with sequels, straight-to-TV films, and this latest project, it’s time for a change. Let’s move forward.

This story appeared in the Sept. 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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2024-09-13 23:55