SSC Film Studies

How important are film franchises to audiences and producers?

I think film franchises are very important to audiences and producers, for example a positive of film franchises for audiences is that they demand experiences and they give them it. Over the last two years, the majority of the biggest grossing films were franchises, for example the biggest grossing film of 2014 was Transformers 3. This is because, as an audience we need to watch the first film before watching the second to enjoy and understand the film. For example, Iron Man 3 requires you to watch the first two films, as they require you to have prior knowledge before being able to understand the film. Some people require their friends to explain the first films. On the other hand, this is a negative for audiences as there are more franchises being created each year, which means there is less choice for audiences as producers are saturating the market and making too much of the same thing. For example, in 2013 the 13 highest grossing films were franchises and in 2014, 15 out of the 20 highest grossing films were franchises. Also, having friends explain the first few films can waste time and energy.

Another positive of franchises is that they grow with the audience and take you on a journey with the characters. For example, Harry Potter begins with the teenagers trying to overcome bullying and being new. As the franchise grows, there are love triangles being created and eventually questioning of their existence in the world. The films are becoming more complex.  However, films with Bruce Willis in, such as Die Hard have no growth of character, he stays the same throughout the franchise of films.

Audiences enjoy engaging in the films with experiences such as video games and theme parks.  I visited the theme park ‘The Wizarding world of Harry Potter’ and the experience made me feel as if I was actually in Harry Potter. This makes the film more engaging and makes the audience enjoy the films more than they did from just watching it. However, no one demands the films we see in cinemas. We don’t get to choose which films are made and we as an audience are expected to watch them anyway.

One of the positives of film franchises for audiences is that they can go and watch them with friends. If a film comes out and a certain group of friends go to see it, once it becomes a franchise that same group will more than likely go to see the new ones together. This creates bonding between friends and brings them closer together as they get to do something they enjoy together. On the other hand, film franchises are becoming boring, repetitive and offensive. Many people want something new instead of the same thing but slightly different. Audiences nowadays want to be challenged with more information, as they can understand more now.

If a film is a big success, it will most likely become a franchise. This means the new film will be popular as the audience from the first film will be intrigued to find out what happens next. A problem with this is that many directors are becoming lazy and cheat by using shots from one of their own films in another one. Also, there is no more challenge for the audience, they know what to expect and it becomes boring. Films like Interstellar and The Dark Knight rises are more sophisticated films which are more challenging to the audience. This is what the audience demand as they like being challenged.

Producer’s benefit from film franchises as, by making a second film their money is secured because it will be successful. This is due to the audience from the first film definitely going to see the second one, as they will be intrigued and excited from the previous film. If some films lose money but one makes it, the good film compensates for the others and the franchise is still a success.  On the other hand, the audience choices are being reduced which makes them not want to go the cinema anymore. This is shown by box office figures that represent falls in numbers.  A negative of film franchises to producers is that they may do the opposite and have no film compensating for the others and then failing, For example, New Line Cinema made Lord of the Rings, they also made The Golden Compass which failed so Warner Bros took over and made The Hobbit which was a success. Before being taken over, New Line Cinema made Lord of the Rings, which was a success and His dark materials and Dungeons and Dragons which both failed, therefore they had a a66% failure.