10 Movie Franchises Hollywood Will Never Let Die

There's too much money at stake NOT to run it into the ground.

Batman Gotham
Warner Bros.

Ever since the paradigm of blockbuster cinema shifted from high-concept original ideas to the franchise and sequel model, established and instantly-recognizable brands have dominated both the conversation and the box office.

While it has undoubtedly resulted in a reduction in creativity and originality in the realm of the studio movie, you can't argue with the results. Every year, the list of highest-grossing movies is always dominated by franchise fare. In 2017, eight of the ten biggest movies of the year were franchise movies, nine if you count Disney's live-action remakes of their animated classics as a brand.

Of course, not all of these franchises are bulletproof. Many of them suffer from the law of diminishing returns, while others often overstay their welcomes. Did we really need five Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean or Ice Age movies? Definitely not. Hell, even the highly lucrative Fast and Furious series is calling it quits at ten.

Irrespective of quality, there are plenty of other brands in Hollywood that have spanned generations, purely because of the huge amount of money that they generate. Some may call it flogging a dead horse, but studio types would no doubt call it maximizing their investment.

One thing that definitely isn't up for debate is that the following ten franchises won't be going away, not in this lifetime at least.

10. Friday The 13th

Batman Gotham
Paramount

Much like the series' seemingly-indestructible protagonist, the Friday the 13th franchise just won't stay dead. While Jason Voorhees has lain dormant for almost a decade after appearing in twelve movies between 1980 and 2009, and another reboot was quietly canceled last year, it won't be too long until the hockey mask-wearing serial killer makes his return.

In fact, the franchise is currently on its longest ever hiatus from the big screen due to the ongoing legal battle surrounding the rights to the property but make no mistake, Jason will be back in short order once everything has been resolved.

The cheap-and-cheerful method of churning out new movies has proven to be hugely profitable over the last 38 years, with the twelve installments in the franchise costing a combined $64.5m and earning over $450m at the global box office.

As one of the most iconic characters in what may very well be the industry's most profitable genre, there is no way that Hollywood is going to give up an such an established property when there is still money to be made. As soon as the rights issues are resolved, Jason will make his return to a theater near you.

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