Importance Of Franchise

Franchises are severely important to audiences and producers alike. The film industry operates under a system called horizontal integration; this is when synergy is implemented by selling the same product through several mediums, this includes merchandise, videogames, etc. To this end, the film is not the only way the industry relies on making money from a production; in fact, the film itself tends to make the least money and merchandise and other mediums make the rest. Franchises and sequels have become more profound in quantity due to this form of business.

Film franchises are beneficial to producers for several reasons. One of which is that, evidently, it rakes in more money than solely distributing the film. This is because there are more revenue streams; the profit isn’t relying on the film to earn the most money, but for the other mediums, such as merchandise. A prime example of this is Disney; the films themselves do earn a lot of revenue, but the theme park Disneyworld/Disneyland rakes in the most revenue in total. This is not only because the ticket prices are vastly more expensive, but also because the films develop a community of fans (a fandom), who are dedicated to the franchise as consumers (take Frozen, for example.)

Franchises also allow audience to build up expectations for sequels and other follow-ups. Star Wars: Episode VII, for example, was the most anticipated film of 2015, and grossed over $1.7 billion. This was because of its predecessors being so successful and building almost a cult of dedicated fans who would pay to watch the newer films at the cinema. It is to no surprise, however, that soon after (possibly even prior to) the release of this newer film, merchandise started appearing on the shelves of main retailer stores – an example of synergy. This leads on to the next benefit of franchises to producers; the safety net. John Carter, Disney’s 2012 Science Fiction film, completely and totally flopped at the box office and caused the company to lose money. However, profits were soon made back by the alternative revenue streams, such as Disneyland and the release of Wreck-It-Ralph. This is a prime example of the huge safety net that franchises develop – a failure is never a failure.

That being said, there are negatives for producers when it comes to franchises. One of which is the concern of the film becoming repetitive and dry; a popular opinion on the franchise Paranormal Activity. A producer can rely on additions to a franchise for so long before the films start to seem too samey – even with Star Wars Episode VII, some thought the plot line was far too similar to the original Star Wars: Episode IV. This also leads into another worry, which is that the film won’t live to audience expectations – a prime example was the Jaws sequels (which were quite literally described as ‘abysmal’).

Audiences also benefit greatly from franchises; one major benefit is that they have an ever-growing world at their disposal. For example, the Star Wars canon was explored through the videogame Star Wars Battlefront, including plot points that were not explored in the films. This is a benefit as it opens opportunity to the dedicated fans, and allows them to investigate this world on several different mediums.

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