Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 6:55PM 2011 Film Slate to Break All-Time Record for Movie Sequels
Over the weekend, a friend of mine and I were having a conversation about the state of the film industry today. Primarily, that creating a brand/franchise has become more important than an idea itself. Then, low and behold, this morning I check the news and find this startling fact to back up our opinion: in 2011, Hollywood will break their own record for most film sequels in a calendar year.
Box Office Mojo did the numbers to show that 27 films released in 2011 will be sequels, up from the previous record of 24 in 2003. To put that into a little more perspective, that averages out to one sequel released every other week for the entire year and one-fifth of all major film releases.
Hit the jump to breakdown the entire list of this lazy, unoriginal, impressive feat.
Out of the 27 total sequels, 9 will be second movies (up from eight last year), 5 will be the third (down from seven last year), 5 fourths, 5 fifths, 0 sixths, 2 sevenths, and finally 1 eighth. Just for good measure, here's a look at every 2011 sequel:
Second: Cars 2, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, The Hangover Part II, Happy Feet 2, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, Johnny English Reborn, Kung Fu Panda 2, Piranha 3DD, and Sherlock Holmes: The Book of Shadows
Third: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son, Madea’s Big Happy Family, Paranormal Activity 3, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Fourth: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Scream 4, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One)
Fifth: Fast Five, Final Destination 5, Puss in Boots, X-Men: First Class, and Winnie the Pooh
Sixth: nunya
Seventh: The Muppets and Rise of the Apes
Eighth: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two
In an interview with USA Today, author of the original Box Office Mojo article Brandon Gray had this to say about Hollywood's recent trend:
"Hollywood is dipping into the well of past glory more than ever. It’s truly unfortunate that story is held in such little regard, when that’s what sells the picture more than any other element."
While Gray definitely has a point, studio execs everywhere would beg to differ. Just look at last year's box office numbers. The top 5 grossing pictures of 2010 were either sequels or based on an existing property, and 12 of the top 15. And the bottom line is really the bottom line when it comes to the films that get made in this town.
Reader Comments (1)
I'm a little disappointed in how fast these articles are posted up. I mean, the Razzies took place on Saturday and the Oscars has already taken place, but there was no posts about it yet.
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