How important are franchises for producers and audiences?

How important are franchises for producers and audiences?

Film studios use franchises as a gateway to make more money. Time Warner who has subsidiaries in Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema has distributed huge franchises such as Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Nolan’s Batman. When they found out how popular the Harry Potter franchise became, they manipulated the fans by making huge amounts of merchandise. Warner used this franchise to make bigger revenue. Teaming up with Universal, Warner opened up The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Island of Adventure back in 2010. Since then, due to huge popularity they gathered enough money to release a second part in the theme park as of 2014.

Another franchise that did immensely well is Star Wars. All 7 films created total box office revenue of $4,485,672,683 however through synergy it has total revenue of $27 billion. The franchise has made more money over the years through toy sales then they have at box office even after 7 years of last film release. Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney to make another 3 instalments, not because fans wanted another 3 films but because the franchise has made so much money so far and still has potential to make more.

However when franchises don’t make a profit at box office, it isn’t always lost. Disney’s John Carter, which was intended to be a franchise, didn’t make the amount of money that was intended with the first film. This doesn’t mean that Disney lost much money as they actually made a lot of money through other elements like toys and video games.

When Alien was released it sparked interest with many. It provided a new take on the horror and science fiction genres, combining them. Scott risked the film by making the protagonist female which hadn’t been seen in those kind of films back then, however, Ripley’s character seemed the strengthen the appeal. The film used universal themes that appeal to mainstream audiences such as the fear of; the unknown, others, claustrophobia and artificial intelligence. Alien was dubbed the ‘perfect film’ for its seamless story line and unique monster.

When the sequel came out, Aliens, it promised there to be more than just one alien and did not disappoint fans. Aliens repeated main themes such as Ripley being a mother figure but as it was the 80’s that it was made in, the film had more action than the first one. Audience like repetition like same characters, monster, scenarios and Aliens achieved this by offering a continuation of the story but built on it.

Alien III came and brought a whole host of new, half written characters. By the start of the film they had already killed off Hicks and Newt who had been strong favourites over the past two films. Cameron who refused to have anything to do with the third instalment said that killing off favourite character a “slap in the face to me and the fans.” What makes this film even worse is that Weavers character and main, Ripley, doesn’t even make it to the end of the film.

Fans of the franchise where confused to hear a forth film Alien: Resurrection was to come out. If the third film hadn’t put audiences off, this one would. Ripley is back as a clone and is pregnant with an alien baby. The film looks like a cheap spin off parody of the first two films however fans had to watch to feel closure for the franchise.