Spider-man case study

How important are film franchises to film studios?

It is apparent that film franchises are very important to film studios. This is because modern day society isn’t two-dimensional and there are a huge range of media outlets that film studios can put to use with the intention of making more money. Film studios understand that the movies they make aren’t the only profitable products now and they are able to sell different versions of the same product over and over again through different media outlets. This is called Synergy. Through this film studios are able to make a lot more money from a franchise. Synergy is only possible through a Horizontally Integrated company. 'Horizontally Integrated means the expansion of a franchise through many different media outlets. 

An example of a Horizontally Integrated company is Sony. Sony bought Columbia Pictures in 1989 and in 2002 they made the first Spider-man movie. As Sony are Horizontally Integrated they are able to sell a variety of different merchandise through different media outlets. For example for every Spider-man movie that has been released there has been a subsequent video game and soundtrack to accompany it. Since Sony also own the PlayStation they only release the games on their own console, creating more profit for them and keeping 100% of the revenue in the company. There are also other types of merchandise such as toys, clothing, bedding etc that have been released over the years. Using Synergy with film franchises doubles the studios overall yearly revenue and even keeps money coming in even when there isn't a film out. 

Overall I believe that film studios rely on film franchises a lot to create profit. Nowadays just making a film isn't good enough to keep a studio in business so they need to create merchandise and sequels. Merchandise can not only help triple a studios yearly and profit but it also keeps the franchise in the audiences mind until the next sequel comes out.