Does Hollywood have a reboot problem?
Hollywood is facing a major problem. Recently, ‘Terminator: Genisys” and “Fantastic Four” bombed in the box office with less than stellar box office sales.
According to BoxOffice.com, Hollywood has failed at surprising fans and audiences are getting sick of watching the same content repackaged, reformatted and ultimately retold to audiences.
Box office analysts are arguing that studios need to let more time pass before rebooting a franchise, or create an completely original spin on the same franchise thriller.
The best example of a movie that was able to reinvent themselves was the “Jurassic Park” franchise. There have been thirteen years before the last Jurassic Park movie and Jurassic Park sequel was the perfect movie to fill in that void audiences have been waiting for.
Meanwhile, “Terminator: Genisys” was released only six years ago and audience members could care less about a robot or Arnold Schwarzenegger since they just watched the last failed reboot several years ago.
A lot of these problems stem from contractual agreements between movie studios and the comic book companies that own them. If studios choose not to make a movie about a particular character, Marvel studios have the opportunity to regain the rights to the characters. Therefore, movie studios are rebooting or remaking franchises at a record pace.
Another issue reboot movies are having is the “origin story.” Whenever you reboot a series, producers always focus the first movie on how a superhero or protagonist ended up in the situation they are in. With so many reboots, all of the storylines have become all of the same. 20th Century Fox (Fantastic Four) faced this problem as well as Sony Pictures (The Amazing Spider-Man). Ultimately, you can’t to do the same thing every year and expect audiences not to notice.
But, origin stories are only going to get more popular. There are several new origin movies in the near future including a Robin Hood, Han Solo, King Arthur, Black Panther, InHumans, Captain Marvel and Luke Cage origin movies.
Here is a full list of reboots and remakes we can expect in the next 10 years:
1. The Craft (1996)Â
2. Wargames (1983)Â
3. Commando (1985)
4. Overboard (1987)
5. Point Break (1991)
6. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
7. Wild Bunch (1969)Â
8. Jumanji (1995)
9. Logan’s Run (1976)
10. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
11. The Fantastic Four (2005)
12. Porky’s (1982)
13. Drop Dead Fred (1991)
14. Frankenstein (1931, 1994)
15. Soapdish (1991)
16. Honey I Shrunk The Kids (1989)
17. Police Academy (1984)
18. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
19. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
20. Three Men and a Baby (1987)
21. IT (1990)
22. Cliffhanger (1993)
23. Don’t Look Now (1973)
24. The Birds (1963)
Therefore, if movie studios plan on creating a reboot, producers need to reboot a TV show or movie that has not aired in at least the last 10 years and while also creating a new spin on the plot. Studios that choose not to focus on the origin story but on expanding the universe are more likely to succeed. At the end of the day audiences want to be entertained and the best way to entertain millions of people is by producing new and original content.
