8 Reasons Hollywood Will Never Stop Making Sequels

What's the main thing you do before going out to see a new sequel? Why, you rewatch the original. It happens every time - you either missed the film first go around and want to get up to speed or simply need a refresh of where all the characters were when we last saw them. And in doing so you're playing right into the studio's hands.

Even if a sequel performs poorly, it's invariably renewed interest in the original (and if it's worse, then it's paradoxically bolstered its reputation), which is a very good thing for the distributor; the cost of selling the rights to Netflix increase, more people download it or buy it on DVD and it's a talking point probably for the first time since release. For bigger or less recent films, smart studios will even have a special edition released in the weeks leading up to release, which not only serves to promote the sequel, but introduces a further form of revenue.

All of this occurs before the sequel's hit. And even if you don't eventually go check the original out again or see the follow up, it's made an impact and established the series as a mainstay (this worked very well for Fast And Furious in the long term).