Why do we always go after shows or movies that replicate an older property? We always say we want something new, something that has never been seen before, yet we follow the same path to watching and enjoying the same thing over and over. I have come to call this condition Sequelitis, as a majority of people are stuck on old storytelling and want to see only the same thing instead of something new. For example, let’s say you want to watch the sequel to the Avenger’s movie, but a new movie comes out that has no other adaptation and is a completely original idea. I’m not saying to skip the Avengers movie, but why not give the other one a chance to see if it can live up to the potential. By ignoring the new movie, you don’t give new films the chance that they desperately need to continue with their franchise. You know that the Avenger’s film will be a success, so why not give the other guy a chance to live up to their potential.
This can also be applied to reboots. Production companies believe that people will want to see only things that they are familiar with and nothing else. By rehashing an old story ("Fantastic 4"/"Spider-Man"), they believe that they will always get the most cash by retelling us a story we already know through and through. Once again, we know that most of these reboots will be a success, yet we continue watching them as soon as they come out. Just this summer, we have had a number of reboots/sequels to already existing franchises. We had "Jurassic World," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Pitch Perfect 2," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Hitman," "Vacation" and "Mission Impossible," just to name a few. There are countless others that came out that added on to existing franchises, but also movies that were original ideas came out alongside them that did poorly in the box office due to the revenue going to these bigger series.
How can you as a consumer of movies fix this problem? How does this situation revolve around the student body? It’s simple, really. Try to explore other options when going to the movie theater. This past weekend, the movies that came out were "Hitman: Agent 47" (a reboot of the 2007 film), "Sinister 2" (a sequel to the 2012 horror film), "Grandma" and "American Ultra." The last two listed were original ideas, and they are doing better than the sequels, proving the point that people are growing tired of unnecessary sequels/reboots and want to see something more entertaining and refreshing. So, the next time that you go to the movies, make it a habit of looking at all of your options before making a decision. You know that the superhero movie you want to go watch will be good, but what about that indie film you’ve heard practically nothing about? Give it a try and movie makers around the world will see the change in numbers for their blockbuster hits and maybe try to cater to new ideas within their already existing franchises.
