From reboots to sequels, Hollywood is lacking fresh concepts for the big screen.
When Hollywood isn’t remaking a film, they’re making a spin-off. It seems almost every film in the box office is something we’ve seen before with a handful of minor tweaks. This year alone, we’ve seen Cruella, Dune, and He’s All That just to name a few. So, what is Hollywood’s obsession with remaking films, and are the days of originality over?
If It Worked Before, It’ll Work Now
It isn’t news that Hollywood loves a cash grab at any chance they can get. Moviegoers are speculating the reason behind all the remakes and spin-offs is simple: it’s already worked before. Succesful movies from the past have already got a fan base and hype behind them, meaning less work for the film industry.
Take Spider-Man for example. We have seen the friendly neighbourhood hero star in three remakes since the early 2000s. There are only so many times we can watch Uncle Ben die, yet, Spider-Man continues to smash at the box office. The 2019 adaptation, Spider-Man: Far From Home produced $1.131 billion while its sequel Spider-Man: No Way Home is anticipated to cash in more.
Disney’s Remakes
Disney is one of the main contributors to the remake phenomenon. Their live-action remake of every original film is becoming quite tiring. We’ve seen remakes from Beauty and the Beast in 2017 to The Jungle Book in 2016. However, it has been reported that Disney has made more than $7 billion worldwide from their remakes alone.
We know that Disney has a hard-core fanbase, and so it makes sense why they would continue to reboot their old concepts.
Is This The New Norm?
It seems as though Hollywood has moved on from the days of risk-taking and is sticking to things that they know will work. Will we ever see a truly original film hit the big screen again or are we stuck in this time loop?