Box Office: Revenge of the Franchise

Franchises are both the lifeblood and bane of Hollywood’s existence. When all goes well, a series can keep consumers interested for years or even decades—James Bond, Batman, Star Wars, Mission: ImpossibleSuperman. But sooner or later, fatigue sets in and the complaints begin (i.e. what went wrong with originality?)

The 2024 summer box office is a rare exception. One studio executive says that for the first time in recent memory, “franchise” isn’t a dirty word. Those big brands helped push year-to-date total domestic revenue to more than $5.4 billion as of the weekend of Sept. 6-8, still down about 13% from the same period last year but better than expected at this point in 2024.

After a difficult May, a reversal of fortune begins autumn guya potential franchise newcomer that was a huge success at the box office, followed by a blowout Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max ($172 million worldwide), following the series’ successful relaunch Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 ($380 million). kingdom of the planet of the apesIt’s one of the many film assets the Disney movie empire inherited following its massive acquisition of Fox assets in 2019.

great ape It was a key post-merger test for Disney, and it passed; the film grossed nearly $400 million worldwide, enough to fulfill filmmaker Wes Ball’s dream of a new trilogy. Alien: RomulusReleased in August, it’s another successful test of 20th Century’s marriage to Disney (it grossed over $300 million worldwide, the second-highest grossing of any film in the franchise, behind only 2012’s Prometheusnot adjusted for inflation).

The overall box office rebound began in early June with Sony’s fourth installment Boy: Either ride or die. The film’s opening far exceeds expectations and promises better things to come. mid-June, Brain Teasers 2
With a record-breaking debut, Pixar returns to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time ($1.675 billion worldwide) and the eighth-highest-grossing animated film of all time Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.926 billion) and jurassic world ($1.672 billion). Paramount has extended its quiet place franchise first day ($261 million), while Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. tornado New stars joined the cast, and the film grossed $366 million.

“Throughout the remainder of the summer, nearly every studio has several summer releases that are exceeding box office expectations across ratings and genres,” said Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Disney dominates the headlines Brain Teasers 2, Deadpool and Wolverineand alien romulus. Universal Pictures succeeds despicable me 4 and tornado. Paramount reaps huge rewards from this A Quiet Place: Day One and bounce back from a shaky opening weekend. if Seeing as this title is worth over $100 million. Sony wraps up the summer with the following hits bad boy death tourJust shy of $200 million at the domestic box office, opening in late summer It all ends with us”.

Speaking of Marvel Studios Deadpool and Wolverinea salve for Kevin Feige’s superhero studio. The movie is the second-biggest movie of the year, grossing over $1.287 billion at the box office, and no matter how you slice it, it’s the best movie in the franchise. In just a few months, Disney — the Hollywood studio that makes its living off franchises more than any other — ceded its No. 1 spot to Universal in a shocking fall from grace last year After the film industry, it once again dominated the competition. Its films accounted for $1.5 billion, or 42%, of summer domestic box office revenue. Disney insiders are particularly pleased with the following titles: great ape and alien Because these are properties from 20th Century Fox, and revitalizing old brands with a smaller inherent audience is more difficult than other brands. dead Pool.

Warner Bros. unveils rare September blockbuster from Tim Burton Beetlejuice Beetlejuice After its premiere on September 6, the global box office soared to $147 million. Next up is the studio’s franchise test: a music-filled sequel Clown: Pas de deuxThe show will be released on October 4 and is expected to gross $70 million at the box office. As Todd Phillips said, it still has a lot of room to fill. clown Global revenue in 2019 was US$1.07 billion.

Blockbuster IP Buzz-O-Meter

A heat check on which franchises are underutilized, overexposed, or overdue for a return to theaters. Author: Borys Kit, Aaron Couch

1. StarCraft

Since 2016 StarCraft III: Beyond the Stars Paramount, which underperformed with $343.5 million in global box office revenue, had developed at least four new films but failed to make them. Why not lower the risk and focus on melodrama, like a modestly budgeted movie Wrath of Khan (1982)?

2. Terminator

Not even the return of James Cameron and Linda Hamilton can save 2019 dark fate. But the new Netflix animation Terminator Zero Suggesting another movie could work just as well – as long as you do something new with it.

3. Reign of Fire

Sure, the 2002 film starring Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey was a flop, but it attracted a cult following. Bring the actors back and that’s it the last of us meet game of Thrones In this post-apocalyptic dragon story.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean

pirate Even before the last entry, 2017 Death without evidence. This one requires starting from scratch, but audiences do love sailing adventures.

5. conan the barbarian

Arnold Schwarzenegger has long been talking about making a Conan movie. this may be Logan A franchise?

6. produce

Atonement and fighting through hell to get the love of your life are evergreen concepts. Blumhouse’s hard-R film has been in development since 2017.

7. murder weapon

In the words of Roger Murtaugh, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are really too old for this kind of thing. And don’t let them have babies. And don’t recast. Just create a new police action series, okay?

8. halloween

The unstoppable masked killer is modern man’s most primal fear. Kudos to recent trilogy director David Gordon Green for making Michael Myers scary again. But nearly 50 years later (the first movie was released in 1978), isn’t it time for something new?

9. The Hack

The original is one of the most influential blockbusters of all time. It’s faced diminishing returns since then, with even 2021’s traditional sequel Resurrection, which reunited the group, failing to resonate. Please do not reinsert it.

10. crow

listen, crow License holder. You’ve been trying to do that for years with sequels, direct-to-home movies and this new version. It’s time to clip those wings.

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