Sequel culture is all encompassing in movie theatres these days. It seems like Hollywood producers are happy to simply cash-in on pre-existing material or an ongoing franchises in the hope that cinema goers will put their money down for a familiar product, helped along with a little name recognition.
Beginning with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace in 1999 the highest grossing film of each year since has been part of a franchise with only two exceptions. James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and Disney’s Frozen (2013) are the only movies to have bucked the trend in that time. The distinction of not being a part of a franchise is only fleeting, as box office success often leads to a “return to the well”. Cameron has two sequels for Avatar in production and Disney officially announced in March 2015 that a feature-length sequel to Frozen was in development.
So to Diminishing Returns, an upcoming podcast about what came next with your beloved movie properties.
Each episode Christopher Scott and Allen Johnston will take a look at what worked and what didn’t in a variety of sequels, prequels, spin-offs and reboots. They will endeavor to get beneath, escape from, conquest and battle their way through the highs and lows of a film franchise. You can keep up to date with the project by following us on Twitter and Facebook
Diminishing Returns 