How important are film franchises to producers and audiences?

It is definitely apparent that film franchises are a vital part of the film making business and that both producers and audiences rely on them a lot. One important feature of film franchises is that they allow Horizontal Integration. Horizontal Integration is the consolidation of holdings across multiple industries. This allows film studios to sell a variety of the franchise through different media outlets and ultimately make a lot more money. This is called Synergy. Synergy is used a lot within the film industry and mainly in regards to film franchises. Synergy allows film studios to keep their franchise in the public’s mind.

A good example of Synergy used to promote a film franchise is with the Alien franchise. Alien -made in 1979 by Ridley Scott- was a huge success within the audience. It was the first in a new sub-genre of Sci-Fi Horror. The audience found that it was revolutionary and offered something new that they hadn’t seen before. It also offered escapism during difficult social climates, which increased its popularity. In the box office the film grossed $104,931,801, which enabled the studio (Brandywine Productions) financial stability and the option for a sequel. The film also ended with an open narrative which left the audience wanting more. Finally in 1986 James Cameron made Aliens, a more action-packed sequel with a bigger production value and the promise of even more -demonstrated by the plural name.- The movie was an even bigger success and to this day it still holds the name of best ever sequel. Aliens made $131,060,248 in the box office, a huge profit which enabled the option of another expansion on the franchise. By the time Alien 3 came out in 1992 though the story was being pushed a bit too much and it had become the type of movie that Alien wasn’t. Through the overuse of facehuggers and Aliens the movie seemed more humorous than scary and the audience felt ‘alienated’. Even though the movie wasn’t a critical success (being said that it would be better as a ‘TV movie’) it still made $159,814,498 in the box office. By the time Alien: Resurrection came out the audience were finished with the franchise and felt that the overuse of sequels were just to make money and not for the audience. They also felt cheated by the way they ‘resurrected’ Ripley as she was the main protagonist. The movie tried to replicate Alien and Aliens success but failed, mainly because it had ventured too far away from the original franchise.

Although the Alien franchise was originally established in 1979 though the use of Synergy has worked for the studio, as teenagers in our modern day society who have never seen the movie still know about the movies. This is not only due to the iconic feel and look of Alien but also due to it’s advertising. To this day they still sell Alien merchandise such as toys, games, DVD’s and much more.