8 Reasons Hollywood Will Never Stop Making Sequels
6. The "Sequels Are Always Worse" Rule No Longer Holds
There once was a time when the only two great sequels were The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back. OK, yes, there were always good sequels (Aliens, Mad Max 2, Terminator 2), but I'm talking ones that not only matched the original, but transcended being part of a franchise in a time when being part of a franchise was poison. Back then, sequels tended to be regurgitative and cheap; it's only in the past couple of decades things have really shifted.
The rule that sequels are always worse has been so eroded away by exceptions that it barely holds anymore; pretty much every superhero sequel to a solid first movie (The Dark Knight, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2), follow-ups to animated movies for non-merch-driven series (Toy Story 2, How To Train Your Dragon 2) and even random movies that don't deserve a sequel (I stand by my enjoyment of Magic Mike XXL) can all be great.
Once you have this higher perception, then audiences are going to treat sequels more seriously and be considerably more open to shelling their hard-earned cash on them. Although this then asks the question of why the quality's turned up, which we'll look at next...