The Summer of Sequels: Or How to Stop Worryingand Accept the Greed

Every year, box office pundits celebrate the arrival of summer. The biggest profits of the year are often posted during the summer months as teens and young adults are out of school and ready to spend their parents’ hard-earned money on frivolous entertainment. So why is this summer any different from past seasons? It isn’t. But some are already making it sound like the large number of sequels this summer tentpole season (10) is some magnificent, unheard of accomplishment. Yet, it’s not really that far out of the norm.

In 2009, there were a total of 10 films that could have been considered sequels (two were iterations on past franchises, but not strict sequels of previous films: Dance Flick and X-Men Origins: Wolverine). There was only one remake.

In 2008, there were arguably 9 sequels (one was an iteration on a past franchise: Disaster Movie. There was similarly only one remake.

In 2007, We had 11 true sequels and 1 remake.

So, as history shows, we’re not looking at some miraculous event, just a common practice for big studios. What is unusual is that we have two remakes this year instead of one. But the reason this is noteworthy has more to do with the notion that Hollywood has run out of ideas rather than that there happens to be one more out there than each of the previous three years. (for the list of sequels and remakes mentioned above, see the lists at the end of this article)

We have all been lamenting Hollywood’s inability to launch new ideas and create truly inventive concepts, choosing instead to rely on its heavy hitters to continue their bountiful box office successes. But, sequels are not really the biggest indication of how lacking Hollywood’s imagination is.

Sequels have been an active part of studios’ bottom lines since before sound was even integrated on film. You can go as far back as those short films shown in the nickelodeons for proof that we’re not looking at a brazen new concept. Those little flicks that were most often were given additional narratives and more time, creating entire film series that pleased many audiences. Even the second Best Picture winner (the first talkie), The Broadway Melody was followed by three popular sequels (but, to be fair, these were revues that didn’t necessarily carry cast members forward).

Not only did the sound era have a number of sequel revues (including The Broadway Melody, The Gold Diggers and Hollywood Revue), but there was also Frankenstein and its 7 sequels (plus 7 Hammer Horror Frankenstein films), and many others. Then there were several serials, short films produced and placed before other films in an effort to get audiences excited about the impending feature.

Even if you’re not that familiar with early Hollywood film history, you would have to be living under a rock not to be familiar with such famous film franchises as The Godfather, Star Wars, The Karate Kid (being remade this year), Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Beverly Hills Cop and so on. Then there’s James Bond who has appeared in 23 major motion pictures with the first of those films produced in 1962.

So, why is such a big deal being made about ten sequels in one season? Sometimes you have to have something to talk about to link all of the film’s of the summer together and other times, talking about the plethora of follow-ups make for sensational news coverage. And those who would say this is a major indication of Hollywood’s dwindling capacity to create new concepts, then they aren’t really paying attention.

The real problem is the remake. Although plenty of motion pictures have been remade over the years, most of them were based on literary sources and were mostly just reworkings of those original publications, not of existing material. Yet, there are plenty of examples of taking an original work (such as the 1907 and 1925 silent versions of Ben-Hur remade in 1959) and remaking it into an significantly more popular production. But, the abundance of such remakes has been relatively limited, but the end of the 1990s saw a larger number of reworked films appearing in the multiplex and this, more than anything else, is the reason why I think Hollywood has started to run out of ideas.

And it wasn’t that these films were being remade because they were of abhorrent quality (The Parent Trap, Halloween, The Fly, The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Miracle on 34th Street are all prime examples of well regarded films given the remake treatment), which would otherwise be understandable. So, why were these films remade? Because the originals were too old. Instead of trying to get modern audiences invested in classics, studios prefer to cash in on existing work that either has a following (the multitude of horror remakes) or that can be cheaply produced.

Cheap is the Hollywood motto. Why commission a new script, purchase rights to a novel or otherwise spend large amounts of money creating something that you already have the rights to? By taking a film like A Nightmare on Elm Street or The Parent Trap and just reworking the script a little, they can release the film for a minor budget, appeal to a more “modern” audience, and rake in the dough all at the same time.

So, while it’s popular to rag on the industry for having no originality, there are still original pictures coming out, perhaps not in the number we would prefer, but they are there. The real reason to take Hollywood to task is for its disingenuous and frustrating desire to make money hand over fist. They sucker new audiences to the theater with updated material that they didn’t pay much for and still make the same kind of money. Their concern isn’t for making a quality product, it’s for making a quality cash cow.

The key to enjoying the summer is to forget about how greedy Hollywood is and focus instead on the mindless entertainment we’ll be subjected to as those popcorn flicks earn their name.

Later this week, I’ll be posting a preview of this summer’s slate of new and sequel pictures.