The cinematic landscape of 2024 has birthed a new titanic phenomenon: all ten of the highest-grossing movies are sequels. That’s right, folks—your local multiplex has officially turned into a nostalgia-soaked theme park where the rides just won’t stop going in circles.
This herald of sequel domination paints quite the picture. With all your favorites returning like overzealous reunions of long-lost friends, we’ve got Harry Potter tragicomedies being ratified again with Inside Out 2, raking in a staggering $1.7 billion. Way to squeeze that childhood trauma one more time, Pixar!
Then there’s the unlikely duo of Deadpool and Wolverine mingling at the box office, presumably gathering scars and sardonic quips while watching appetites surge towards a cool $1.3 billion. It seems superhero fanatics are determined to show how low their thresholds for originality really are. But who are we kidding? Deadpool pretty much redefined the term ‘franchise fatigue’ as it began believing it could coin a cabernet you’d want to sip as it sat smugly atop Summer City rooftops.
Following close behind it at the box office is decidedly less-vibrant party-crasher Despicable Me 4, probably scraping cereal-off-the-floor audiences like a hapless Minion on his way to the dumpster. Meanwhile Dune: Part Two takes on literary buffet-style grandeur, sure to satisfy few and spoil a few more until we’re snubbing our jaded palettes at yet more “unfilmable” epic tomes.
The other contestants vying for public attention include Godzilla and Kong teaming up for what can only be described as marketing exploitation on par with political infomercials, and the wildly unnecessary endeavors like Kung Fu Panda 4, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and (because redundancy was a school project) Venom: The Last Dance. Creativity be damned, as Bad Boys continue to part with most fools in, yep, Ride or Die.
Stepping outside Hollywood’s echo chamber, even sociologists have taken note. Gabriel Rossman asserts that, despite a solid rebound in box office numbers post-COVID, the art of narrative deep-dive has dwindled as horror becomes our only export. Originality is toast, as George Lucas—a visionary prone to tuning microwave dings—has now pointed out how sequels are clinging to safety in narrative waters that get more shrill at high tide.
Sean Baker also expressed bewilderment—where are the unique scripts yearning for spots on premium screens? Clearly buried beneath a mound of alarming licensing deals. Calling it “Modern Reel Drag,” or “sure this will make money,” almost passes for insight these days as these movies keep throwing baby money out the proverbial window of artistic examination.
This masked risk-averse epidemic makes worm-eaten savants like Disney CEO Bob Iger dance in their lanky suits, as bringing forth more sequels equates to less market saturation for directors. Just chum the waters with flights of familiar faces, and cast aside any perspicacious risks like they tumble fumbled high-fives never gained in the first place.
Not to be taken lying down, these films drove about $7.5 billion onto the studios’ balance sheets while case-oriented performance scans showcased a drop compared to previous years where once $10.2 billion glittered like gold. Eek!
The unflagging irony is set for upheaval this weekend as Wicked, the wildly anticipated prequel to The Wizard of Oz, opens ominously, and we’ll welcome back to the fold our audience members eager to feel enchanted, perhaps finally escaped from the day заказа easily recognizable Wal-Greens refill culture. Don’t worry, arbitrary sequel law stipulates we may return at any moment, delivered back as those green-skinned gemstones once assured of familiarity. The death calendar continues…to opine at your quarterly loss!
With all ten highest-grossing films of 2024 being sequels, one must ponder: have we officially run out of original ideas, or is this just the industry’s epically cynical vaulting of familiarity over creativity? Dive into the comments and let us know if you’re feeling endlessly excited or comically put-upon by this cinematic déjà vu. And if you’re itching for more movie musings, explore other Movie News stories that might just tickle your cinematic fancy.
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