10 Reasons Why 2016's Blockbusters Are Failing
4. Complete Non-Starters
Conscious of the amount of money that can be made from a successful franchise, occasionally a studio will greenlight an obvious ‘first film’, by adapting a massive success in a different medium: the first book in a popular series, for example, or a hit video game where the high concept is the hook, rather than a strict narrative.
It’s the only occasion when movie executives will see the gamble as 100% worth taking. Instead of making a sequel to replicate the success of the first movie, they’re taking the chance on creating a whole new cash cow to be milked into the grave.
2016, however, has not been the year for new growth. Partly, it’s that franchise fatigue again - today’s savvy audience can spot the first film in a trilogy from a mile off, and they tend to dislike films made for no other purpose than to spawn merchandise and sequels.
Warcraft: The Beginning had that franchise cynicism built into the title, for heaven’s sake. When the film began development, the video game that spawned it was a massive hit, but in 2016 World Of Warcraft isn’t nearly the gaming powerhouse it was. A horrible failure at home, the film has done far better internationally, but the domestic box office is still a key performance indicator for NBCUniversal.
A brand new Tarzan movie was considered a possible franchise starter, despite the age and over-familiarity of the property. There are twenty-six official books in the series, after all. However, with a budget of $180million, a worldwide take of $357million doesn’t get you a corner office and a parking space.
On the comedy front, Central Intelligence was a much more canny bet with a budget of only $60million, but may have underperformed raking in $215million. The ending to the similarly economical Shane Black’s The Nice Guys was deliberately set up for a sequel or two, but will probably just barely scrape back its budget.
With older franchises showing signs of stalling and efforts to kick start new ones faltering, Hollywood may have to think outside the box in the next few years to stimulate the audience’s interest.