Remakes, reboots, adaptations, and sequels. The hottest hits of Hollywood, all brought to you by a lack of innovation swirled together with a large helping of nostalgia.
The cinematic world we live in now is dominated by these types of films.
The trend of taking something that already exists and changing it up either to modernize it, adapt it or … for really no reason at all, is beginning to reach a peak.
Just take a look at some of the top 10 highest grossing films of last year: “Finding Dory” (sequel), “Rogue One” (prequel), “Captain America: Civil War (both a sequel and an adaptation), “The Jungle Book” (remake).
Now take a look at the most popular films currently out as well as some of the most anticipated this year: “Beauty and the Beast” (remake), “Power Rangers” (adaptation), “Logan” (sequel), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (sequel), “Ghost in the Shell” (adaptation), and the list goes on and on.
It is getting to a point where about 90 percent of films hitting theaters are doing this type of thing. Sure, adaptations, sequels, and remakes all have been in Hollywood for decades, but never to the extent or severity that we are seeing today.
This most certainly has to do with production companies’ unwillingness to take risks. Why take a shot at a completely original idea when you can adapt a popular television show or comic book with an audience and fan base already built right in? These types of films are made over original content because they are almost guaranteed not to be total flops.
Look at a film like “Batman v Superman.” This, by all intents and purposes, is an awful film. Yet, somehow, Snyder’s butchering of classic characters was still a big hit. Why? Because the film had the name “Batman” in it, one of the most iconic characters ever to exist.
This phenomenon also begs the question, what does an original film have to do to make a dent on popular culture?
My theory is that it is the genre that matters in this situation. If you take a look at original ideas in Hollywood that saw success in the past several years it is either one of two genres: horror/thriller or animated, but for the sake of brevity, I’m just going to focus on the former.
This month, “Get Out” saw success. At the beginning of the year, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split” was a hit. Last year, it was “Don’t Breathe.” Then there are films of the past few years such as “It Follows” or “The Purge.” There is something about this genre that gets audiences in seats despite their lack of star power and big budgets. I believe this is because society, as a whole today, is scared, and these films reflect the real horrors that people face every day and transform them into palatable entertainment.
These films remain relevant and semi-popular because, let’s face it, things are not looking great for America these days, which is the same reason why remakes and sequels are emerging more and more. The American people cling to the pleasantries of their youth and want to be reminded that things once were not so bad for them, either as a child or just in the past.
This “remake trend” in Hollywood certainly is bad for innovation, but it’s necessary for our mental well-being. Sure, it produces lackluster content that might make some people more angry than comforted, but there are enough quality ones out there to make a difference (like a certain new film adapted from a 90s TV series that may be talked about somewhere else in this paper).
