Is Franchise Fatigue Real?

No matter how we feel about it, the film industry values franchises above all else now. The summer Box Office has been dominated by returning franchises and rebooted hits, to differing results. It's a strategy however, that is hard to argue with. You need to look only at the success of the Marvel cinematic universe, with Avengers: Endgame recently becoming the highest grossing film in history.

However, not all franchises are so successful, and over the last couple of months franchise fatigue has become more apparent than ever. The most glaring example of this is the final entry into the X-men franchise: Dark Phoenix. Not only was the film an incredibly underwhelming ending to the beloved X-men franchise, but it was undoubtedly the biggest flop of the summer. From a rumoured budget of $200 million, the film was only able to collect a worldwide gross of $252 million. With advertising costs taken into account, the film has undoubtedly made a substantial loss. Which raises the question: is franchise fatigue real, or are studios prolonging the wrong franchises.

The argument can be made that the problem lies with reviving franchises that should remain dead. You need only look as far as the most recent Men In Black film, which just like Dark Phoenix delivered terrible Box Office returns, to understand the extent of this problem. Men In Black 3 was only released in 2012, and was the highest grossing film in the series. Whilst it was not the most critically acclaimed entry into the series, there was clearly still an audience for Will Smith's and Tommy Lee Jones' wise-cracking agents. The decision to reboot this franchise then, albeit with beloved stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, was an odd one, and it was one that audiences did not take to. And this is not the only example of familiar characters falling flat.

There were returns to the big screen for familiar faces such as Godzilla, Hellboy, and Shaft, all of which failed to connect with audiences, and therefore lost money. This just goes to show that big name stars do not have the same effect on audiences that they used to. With David Harbour, Samuel L Jackson, and Millie Bobby-Brown, these films all had a hugely popular star in a leading role, and for one reason or another they all disappointed both critically and commercially. It goes to show that audiences are no longer led into cinemas by big names alone, and they are now demanding quality plots/characters and effects, in addition to a quality performance from a recognisable face.

However, this is not to say that all franchises are doomed. The Marvel Cinematic universe's most recent release, Spider Man: Far From Home, was quick to cross $1 billion dollars, and their recently announced phase four has got fans very excited. This is not the only franchise still going strong though, the most recent entry into theFast and Furious Franchise has recently his theatres, and it has topped the Box Office two weeks running. The Fast and Furious franchise, much like the MCU, is showing no signs of fatigue. This is partly down to the fact that audiences know what to expect of these films: a switch off your brain and enjoy your popcorn entertainment film. Moreover, there has not been a large gap between any of the films, meaning the audience for these films have not grown up and forgotten about the characters and plots of previous films.

Evidently the most recent outbreak of franchise fatigue is not a pandemic. However, there do seem to be a number of rules for success. Firstly, don't reboot franchises that aren't even cold yet (Men In Black). Secondly, give us something we haven't seen before (Hobbs and Shaw). And finally, don't reboot something for the sake of rebooting something.

If it's good, make it. If it's not, don't bother.