SSC Film Studies

How important are film franchises for producers and audiences?

 

 

Film franchises have become an important feature for both producers and audiences. There are many reasons for this, such as merchandise and a fall in “Star Power” as film franchises have come to replace them.

Merchandise is a major part of film franchises. It helps to make even more money along side the film, and often can make even more than the film itself. Audiences seem to want to buy things that are irrelevant to the film itself, and merchandise plays a vital part in the franchise as it keeps the franchise fresh in the minds of the audiences. This would appeal to producers as it offers them the chance to make more films for even more profit, as they know that the franchises could attract old fans and new. In this essay I am going to use the Alien franchise as a case study, and this can be used to show how merchandise and spin offs can help a film revenue more money. Alien was kept fresh in the minds of people even though only the older generation would remember the films release. It did this through spin off movies and games in the “Alien Vs. Predator” games, which appealed to both the older and newer generations and helped to keep the Alien franchise a household name throughout the years.

There is also the decline in “Star Power” which has been replaced by the repetition of films in a film franchise. Audiences would go to see a film for a film actor or star, but this isn’t the case more recently. Fans have began to go and see films for the experience of a long lasting story in a franchise, and have begun to have less interest in stars. Franchises offer the experience of a long lasting story that they can connect to or escape in, with the guarantee of a new film in the franchise if it is successful.  Alien again was a case of this as neither the directors (Ridley Scott, James Cameron) of the two most successful movies in the franchise or the star (Sigourney Weaver) in them were the main reason for the success, but instead the new experience that it offered was the main attraction to the audience.

The New Cinematic experience is another reason for film franchises being a major success.  New cinematic experiences have begun to appeal to audiences more than things such as stars, which have been in decline. The audiences have begun to want to experience new things, and Alien is a perfect example of it. It offered a story that delves into both the horror genre and sci-fi genre, which was a new thing in the film industry of the time. It also helps that the sci-fi genre had a massive boost into success due to the highly successful Star Wars franchise. The new experience also appealed to producers, as they know that a franchise with new experiences will bring in more and more fans to the franchise, which will increase the total amount of money made by it.

Despite audiences wanting new cinematic experiences, it doesn’t stop repetition within the films. Despite this, the repetition is still a major factor to bring in audiences as the audience have similar expectations of a film. These expectations can be met by a franchise, and this will bring in even more money for future films within the franchise. Alien again is an example, as audiences have expectations for each film within the franchise, and these expectations, if met, bring in even more of the fans to watch the films and buy the merchandise. There are many examples within the Alien franchise that are a part of repetition, but the two main ones are the “Face Huggers” and the Xenomorph. Fans of the franchise expect to see a Face Hugger in each of the films as it brings a thrill to them, and has become associated with the franchise. The Xenomorph is important too, as it is the very creature the film is named after (due to it being a alien life). The repetition of the Xenomorph and its features are a main reason for the success of the Alien franchise, and also its fall. Within the first two, the very unique look of the creature and its animalistic features were one of the reasons it has become one of the most iconic antagonists in film history. This helps the franchise and proves that franchises are important as the creature itself is bringing in audiences and fans, and merchandise of the creature brings in even more money. There is also the repetition of smaller things for the older fan bases. The spin off film “Prometheus” tells the fans about the creature seen in the very first Alien film 30 years before that was known as the “Space Jockey”. Fans simply went to see the new film within the franchise simply for the repetition of the creature for answers, even 30 years after the first film.

A reason as to why franchises are important and repetition is also because of the failure of films such as Alien 3, which was widely regarded by many as the start of the downfall within the film. It killed off many of the characters that fans loved in the second film, and missed out vital things that were repeated in the previous films, such as the use of a face hugger and trying new things that changed the feel of the frightening Xenomorph.

There is also the use of repetition and a new cinematic experience within the franchise of Alien which is a major factor in bringing in audiences and having potential merchandise for producers to use to make more money. One of the experiences within the film is fear, which struck into many people and gained their attention. One of the main fears is the fear of tech, with is repeated within each of the films within the franchise. The character of Ripley is almost killed within each of the films by an android. This digs into the universal fear of technology, and shows how androids represent an artificial life and are superior in every way to humanity with the feeling of no empathy. The fact that the character the audiences love (Ripley) is attacked in almost every film enforces the fear of technology, and appeals to audiences in each film in the franchise as they want to go and see whether she can best them or not.

 

·      Synergy

·      Existing fan base