Matt
It’s official: Hollywood is tapped for any fresh ideas. One in five films released this year will either be a sequel, prequel, or spin-off. Not that this should come as a huge shock to anyone.
According to a report by Box Office Mojo, Hollywood will rely on former glories in 2011 to a greater degree than ever before. Sequels, prequels, and spin-offs comprise over a fifth of the currently scheduled nationwide releases, tallying 27 — including the third installment of the Big Momma series, “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.” Last year, there were 19 sequels, prequels and spin-offs, and the previous high was 24 in 2003.
I’ve complained about adaptations and remakes, especially with TV. In general, I’m not totally opposed to sequels. I hope they make Ghostbusters 3, expect Scream 4 to be a blast, and can’t wait for the next Iron Man and Batman films. But we don’t need a third Big Mamma, a third Alvin and the Chipmunks, a fourth Mission Impossible and Pirates of the Caribbean. And we certainly don’t need a fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. I’m pretty sure we’ll all survive without it.
And some of the titles to these are just precious. The next Piranha 3-D film will be called…. wait for it…. Piranha 3DD. I can see the movie poster taglilne: “Piranha 3DD — The extra ‘D’ is for Dumb.”
Hollywood can do better. It’s up to the consumer to show them that we’re not willing to spend our money on bad movies.
Here’s the complete list of all the sequels set for release this year:
Second films: 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, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.
Third films: Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, Madea’s Big Happy Family, Paranormal Activity 3, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.
Fourth films: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Scream 4, Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One).
Fifth films: Fast Five, Final Destination 5, Puss In Boots, X-Men: First Class, Winnie The Pooh.
Seventh films: The Muppets and Rise Of The Apes.
Eighth film: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two.
Holy crap. I never realized there would be so many. Geez. Overload. I bet most of them will be unoriginal and unadulterated garbage.
LOL @ “Piranha 3DD — The extra ‘D’ is for Dumb.”
I’ve never seen the movie, but I appreciate sarcasm when I see it.
As for sequels, I’m not opposed to them either, but I strongly believe that they are unnecessary. The second will never be as great as the first. The Disney genre alone has just about proven that. =_=
3DD — isn’t that Barbie’s bra size?
Never say never
Terminator 2, Aliens, Godfather pt. 2, Spiderman 2, Superman 2, Dawn of the Dead, Back to the Future II, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, The Dark Knight, The Empire Strikes Back, Mad Max 2, among others.
I don’t think all of these movies are better than the original but I do believe you can make a case for all of them. Plus they’re all better than a lot of original movies.
Not always.
I really think the best films are the ones based off of books, and the same goes for sequels. Directors don’t have the brains to write another two hours worth of good cinema but plain old fashioned writers like J R Tolkien and C S Lewis do. Most classics don’t come from the producer’s sketchbook (with a few exceptions).
Obviously been going this way for a while. Why spend the marketing money to introduce movie-goers to a new film, when you can ride the coattails of the film before with a ready-made audience.
That being said, I’m not sure what ready-made audience there was for Alvin and the Chipmunks II, much less for III.
But, The Muppets and Rise Of The Apes, now that’s one movie I’d pay to see: Think “Take your stinking paws off me,” but you know, in Kermit’s voice.
You raised some really good points — especially from a business perspective. If you don’t need to spend as much money in marketing to get the movie (out there) like the first one (and the first one did well), there’s a good chance that the second one will do at least half as well as the first one, simply by association.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jeremiah
Year of the sequel and yet no sequel to to Buckaroo Banzai. Say, Charlie Sheen has some time on his hands, maybe we can persuade him to get on that.
Every year is always the year of the sequel. This is nothing new unfortunately.
Agreed. And Harry Potter is a series like Lord of the Rings. It should not count as a sequel.
If something, anything makes money in Hollywood, then you can be sure a sequel will follow. If you can turn that into a franchise, even better. All the studios want to find the next 007 series and ride it for 30 years.
WOW! I never knew that there were so many sequels, prequals, and spin-offs out there. I also love the name of the Piranna 3-DD. Really sad. Couldn’t they have come up with a better title. Piranna 3-D 2 would have been bearable but DD. Nice post.
I hadn’t a clue we could possibly get to eighth films!
Well with Harry Potter it’s been planned out from the beginning, you can’t just make some of the books into movies and ignore the rest. Plus, the seventh books is too complex to be shoved into one movie.
Some good ones in the list!!! HP8 wahooooooo!
Wait…there are 3 Big Momma films?? How is that possible?! Who even went to see the first one?!
I checked out your blog…I was hoping to get back to school this next year, but wow…expensive!
Thanks for doing what you’re doing. 
Dug
http://thf2.wordpress.com
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Yeah, school can be expensive depending on where you go and which programme you enrol in, but I still think you should go back…not that I’m biased or anything. 
It looks more like an age of sequels
Yes, but how many will win the Oscar?
Blessings,
Ava
xox
Just because they’re sequels doesn’t mean they aren’t good. Why shouldn’t a movie be turned into a series if there’s a demand for it? And dudes, don’t hate on Piranha, I personally thought it was great and fun. So I’m all for a sequel with more DDs in it.
Read our review of Piranha 3D. I think it’s one of the best ones my brother ever wrote.
Wow, how unoriginal are they…? Part 8? How pitiful….
Um…..do you not know that the Harry Potter series is a BOOK series? What were they going to do, make a few of them into movies and just stop?
“What were they going to do, make a few of them into movies and just stop?”
That’s exactly what they’re doing with the Dark Tower books… getting through the first three as movies, and throwing the rest into a television series which will most likely taper off and die long before the characters even GET to the Tower…
I know, it’s such a shame.
Stephen King is my favorite author and the Dark Tower series is so great! I might not even see the movies because I don’t want to get my hopes up.
The worst thing for me is not just that these films are all sequels, but that they are films for kids. I’m 26 and I want good movies for my age group (or older!). Haven’t film-makers and producers realised yet that there IS a market for mature films? That people aged 25-105 WANT to be relieved of their hard-earned cash in order to escape the humdrum of real life for a couple of hours too? We earn more money than teenagers but get almost nothing. And look at how long these tween-teen money-making-machines have been going now:
Twilight – 3 years
Pirates of the Caribbean – 8 years
Harry Potter – 10 years
Scream – 15 years
The dictatorship of bad films just goes on… and on… and on… and on…
And if you’re an adult saying “Harry Potter 8, wahooo!” – oh my Lord, grow UP.
The people that grow up die young. I’d prefer to live young and die old.
They’re aimed at those age groups because they know they’ll make the most money from it; they’re not stupid.
Harry Potter?, Pirates of The Caribbean? = Wahooo !! I am an adult and I don’t WANT to grow up..I have an imagination… and I use it… to good effect just like this genre of films..
OH COME ON. Let people get excited about Harry Potter, despite age. ESPECIALLY if it’s people who read the books!
That’s great that people are interested in something that can lead to them reading a book rather than seeing ANOTHER sequel/prequel/crapfest.
It doesn’t matter how old or young you are…if you’re interested in a book, fucking read it.
Oh, I totally agree. The moment I got tired of Twilight was the moment Edward bega t sparkle in the sunlight. All the teen draman…over it! We need great movies for adults. I was so disgusted with all the teen vampire drama that I decided to write my own! *lol* Hopefully once it comes out in movie form, it will be much more impressive then all these sequals. Some of them have been good, but at some point a new show must go on! No one has shown originality in a new story line. Are people running out of ideas?
I’m the same age as you…and I have to admit that I do enjoy Harry Potter, so it is not only a movie for tweens and teens, but a movie for all ages…why do you think them to childish for adults? The books were great…and as the characters age, so does the audience…
Great post, Ruth. I always want good movies. Some say the bad ones make the money to make the good ones. I say that’s crap. Just make good movies. People will come.
Winnie the Pooh! <3
Some of those are sequels because they're adaptations of books etc.
Technically, it’s a spin-off.
Still waiting for Con-Air 2!!!
I’d probably like to see the X-Men sequel just because I like X-Men. Lol…my latest posts read like some of the sequels, “Remembering Korea: (title): (title)”.
I definitely like originial ideas when it comes to movies, but it seems like that is a pretty rare thing. I guess I can deal with the excessive sequels if they turn out to be good, but I agree with you, Alvin and the Chipmunks is awful enough and you don’t need to make any more spinoffs of that or any other crappy movie. The Muppets I’m looking forward to though!
While I agree with your reasoning and admire your intentions, I must admit, few movie titles have intrigued me to the extent of:
“The Muppets and Rise Of The Apes.”
I wasn’t excited at all about Pirates 4 until I saw the trailer, now I can’t wait to see it!
i believe some of these sequels will actually be pretty good. im a sucker for sequels or even prequels. what i like more is when the sequel is just as good or better than the first. but it sucks when its completely horrible and done completely wrong
That’s Hollywood for you…take a horse and ride it until it dies. I’m not surprised as this nonsense has been going on for years. When a fairly original movie (ie, District 9, The Triplets of Belleville) surfaces, it’s worth watching. Congrats on the FP!
Some of these movie series are overdone and should not continue, such as Pirates of the Caribbean or Scream, but some plots(though related to overdone or presious series), such as X-Men First Class are original and innovative in their own right, and deserve just as much praise or more (considering none have been released, judgement will come later) than the previous works in the series.
I can’t wait to see Twilight!!!!!
Although we really don’t need another “Pirates,” of course I’m going to see it with my son. I agree, Scream will be a blast, and another Harry Potter is expected, and the Muppets are eternal. But we don’t need another Cars, Big Momma, or be Hoodwinked again, and definitely no more Fockers. Another Spy Kids? Aren’t they grown? The first Happy Feet was torture and made me want to run home to watch March of the Penguins. Eesh.
I love that they’re splitting the last twilight in two – that series wants to be Harry Potter so bad, its pathetic
Couldn’t agree with you more. You look back over the last decade and note the stand-out films like Usual Suspects that had no sequel – and then compare it to the travesty that was the ‘prequels’ to the original Star Wars Trilogy.
Speak the gospel, Mark!
Piranna 3-DD sounds like a new type of bra. Gosh..This is why I save so much money by not going to the movies. I only saw one film last year which was HP 7 (and I’ll definately see 8 this year).
Ghostbusters 3?? I heard Bill Murray has the script but hasn’t really read it. But I could probably make my own guess of how it would come out: they would most likely cast a bunch of “Twilight” teens, put them in a Paranormal Activity house, and add a dash of T&A with some disgruntled spirits. (Silly guess really) I’ll just stick to my books and British mystery DVD’s.
I don’t like most sequels… Pirates of the Caribbean will probably be good, as will Harry Potter, but the rest… I don’t know.
Dear Hollywood, please come up with some more original ideas!
Yeah. Please deliver me from the ridiculousness of Piranha 3-D and Alvin and the Chipmunks.!
i cant wait for pirates of the Caribbean sequel!!!! ahhh! huge fan! and also Xmen first class!!! love both series! nice post congrats on fp
I personally can’t wait for the Harry Potter finale.
Deathly Hallows films are ironically the best directed out of all the Potter films.
As for the rest they actually sound really, really bad. Especially Alvin and the Chipmunks. Why oh why?
They’ve been doing this for years. At least sequels implies more originality than remakes. HBO has a remake coming later this month, Mildred Pierce. Oh and I don’t count the 8th Harry Potter film as a sequel. We knew that one was coming from the get go.
Great piece. Congrats on being fresh pressed!
I kindo f agree. I know there will be a lot and it may be your typical Hollywood cheap stuff, but what can I say? Hollywood has filmmaking as your typical supply-and-demand industry. Always did, always will.
I think the worst and most surprising thing about that list is the “Part 1″ after a Twilight movie. Really? Because we really needed to break up *that* epic tale? Since Harry Potter had to split up two movies, focusing the first one on three kids talking in a tent for two hours? Sadly this doesn’t matter as no matter how bad the film is the audience still finds it. Pirates and Paranormal Activity sum up that mindset rather well.
I’ve simply stopped seeing new movies, and it would take an awful lot of incentive for me to even give one a try anymore.
Feels like every year is the year of the sequel.
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Good piece.
Well, sequels and remakes. What can you say?? Some remakes seem so unnecessary that it makes me sad – The Pink Panther for example. Didn’t really need remaking did it?? Sequels – not a new thing – Mad Max, Alien, Rocky, Terminator, Jaws, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Shrek, Ice Age, etc, etc, which isn’t to say that they’re bad films, but, there do seem to be an awful lot more sequels now than ever previously. About 80+ in development this year!
I guess there aren’t that many new ideas???
Here’s the thing, movies cost a boat load of money to make, and lots to market too. Sequels/remakes/ etc are made because they have a built in audience. If a movie does bad it won’t get a sequel (Van Helsing for example). If a movie does well obviously people liked it so another one gets made.
There are new ideas coming out, there always will be, there just not always coming out in movies. Novels, comics, and to a degree video games are where the fresh ideas are at.
Also even at 27 sequels/remakes that’s still only a fraction of the 400+ movies hollywood makes every year.
Wow, Hollywood is running dry on ideas! I get annoyed with sequels most times because they don’t do justice to how the movie SHOULD be and it just ruins it for me. And really, how many times can you watch a Big Mama movie? It’s entertaining sure, but not all that great that you have to make ANOTHER one of them. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see some of the movies on the list up there. I hope they do the storyline justice and don’t ruin everything! Thanks for the list!
It’s called “Playing it safe”. There are always plenty of new ideas in any industry…but in this economy nobody wants to take a chance on an idea that hasn’t been proven an advance success.
Some of these are so “Ehhhh..”
I’m going to go ahead and put myself in hot water with parents: Spy Kids. Stop now. Please.
In trouble with every female: Twilight: Have never seen any, don’t want to, won’t ever, even if my significant other pleads. Just a big “no.” Can’t wait until this is put to rest!
Big Mama…I thought they only made trailers for this..you mean there’s WHOLE MOVIES that are about this?
More…but I’ll stop. Actually like the “Pirates” flicks. Hopefully they keep it well-done.
PEace,
Dug
http://thf2.wordpress.com
I am a teenage boy. And I am sorry to say that I wanted to know what the hype was about. Well… The books were mostly plaguerisms, and the movies are cheap. Not only were they plaguerized, but they were poorly written at that. Took me a week to read them. That’s a week I will never get back.
What are you talking about? Dug mentioned a few movies, but none that were based on books? Did you reply to the wrong comment?
Oh wait, Twilight. They were based on books. I get it now. Though I can’t remember any other vampire books, that had vampires in high school, but vampires have never really interested me. Maybe I missed it? Or it wasn’t very popular?
I’m really not excited about most of these. Has anyone seen 2 Fast 2 Furious? It sucked and had no tie to the plot of the first movie. They seem to keep jumpin around. Can anyone here tell me if you see any way for the second Hangover to have anything to do with the first? Book adaptations like Harry Potter and Whinny the Pooh may be worth watching. Unnecessary sequels and prequels like Fast Five and Hoodwinked Too! partially disgust me.
And I really wish that George Lucas had not screwed the pooch with the Star Wars prequels.
As a final note, I am somewhat excited for the next Pirates of the Caribbean and X-Men movies. But hey, that’s just me.
“Piranha 3DD —Fish Tits”?
Hahaha!!!! Epic comment.
Can’t wait to catch those. Thanks!
Cheers!
Hollywood is dead; long live YouTube! RT
We were just discussing just how dumb movies have been lately. None have been worth going to the movies for. What happened to great entertainment?
I saw the Big Momma’s sequel this week. It was pretty good compared to the others.
Feels like every year is the year of the sequel.
How much time till Martin Lawrence find he’s not funny at all?
/hate
The Twilight Saga’s okay but in this case since I’m a Harry Potter fan far and wide and forever I’m saying Screw Twilight. Also I went to see I am Number Four and there are going to be 2 or 3 more movies of it and I’m telling you right now I’m going to see them because Alex Pettyfer is just seriously hot plus the movie was good and totally worth it
Weird. I never realized how many sequels there have been recently…this was interesting.
The Hangover, Xmen, Fast Five and Harry Potter are the only films I’m looking forward to seeing this year. The others just seem to be filling a gap where the good movies are supposed to be that aren’t being made. I’m not sure how else to elaborate. This years cinema is gonna suckkkk lol
What? Piranha 3DD is a great title! The whole idea is that it’s a cheeseball comedy that spoofs horror B movies from the 70′s with tons of bimbo girls bouncing around with their tops off, that’s what the double D represents. Hilarious.
the Piranha 3D movies are supposed to be silly and not taken seriously, wow, some of you guys need to lighten up… and the double D in the title definitely refers to all the naked boobies in the movie
Wow! They really shouldn’t make sequels to some of these movies, the 1st ones aren’t even that good. It’s so true Hollywood has no originality.
The only movies I will wait for this year for sequels is like…
Fast Five, Pirates 4, X-Men : First Class…
Others more like a meh to me.
New M:I, Sherlock Holmes and Johnny English?? Gotta wait for the trailer for further word..
To harrisonbardwell : 2 Fast 2 Furious actually focuses what happened after the first one, so of course it wasn’t tie in. And you might be wondered how Dom was at Tokyo at the 3rd movie, don’t you? If you don’t, that just lame. But that’s just my opinion.
I haven’t seen any of the Big Mama movies and can’t believe they are on the third. Who saw 1 and 2? Apparently enough to make a third. Now Harry Potter I love and I’ve read all the books. And those were written long before all the movies have been made. A little different that Big Mama and Piranha 3D. Didn’t realize so many sequels.
I’m all for new movies, hell I love movies and get sucked into them easily, but even I can’t get excited for all of these. I’ve got no problem with, say, HP 8, after all it’s been planned… and who can’t get excited for a new muppets film, but fast and the furious 5? really? come on… that’s unnecessary… But I can tell you this, thank god technology has developed enough for hollywood to make comic book movies, Thor anyone?
… *beware: shameless plug*I’ve got a movie blog of my own, check it out!
http://ksheehan72.wordpress.com/
Good work n congrats on being freshly pressed.
This will be a terrible movie year I’m afraid
I don’t care about the other, but do really hope Harry Potter 7B will successfully entering Indonesia’s cinema
i’m waiting for this movie: Cars 2, I, Happy Feet 2, Johnny English Reborn, Kung Fu Panda 2, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, X-Men: First Class, Winnie The Pooh.
Especially Happy feet
I enjoyed the article, MB. Speaking of abbreviations, is MI 4 going to star Tom Cruise? If not, who’s the new spy? I hope they put that actor from Hitman, Timothy Olyphant (but with his hair grown of course!). As for sequels I think the award for Most Ever Great Sequels should go to the 007 franchise while the award for Sequel Overkill should go to Jigsaw (SAW franchise)…overkill indeed.
I think the only one of these I actually look forward to or think there is a point in at all would be the last Harry Potter movie. I’ve been a fan since I was a little kid, so I’ll have to see that movie, and if they had stopped making movies somewhere right in the middle of the book series that just wouldn’t have been right…
Hollywood’s been running out of ideas for years, the same can be said for all media (comics, tv, etc). But honestly, seeing the list of sequels is a real eye opener to see just how bad things have become. Wow. Just wow.
Great! Hollywood has filmmaking as your typical supply-and-demand industry. Always did, always will.
It is crazy but I am excited about HP 8 and Twilight 4, they are at least from books so are understandable. Big Momma’s House, I mean really?!!
why cant we have something new? although i do love xmen. guilty pleasure!
OMG i’m looking forward to watching all of them!
I saw previews for the movie “Arthur” starring Russell Brandt(sp?). The original starred Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli and it was hilarious. Although, I can’t stand Brandt, I will go see the movie; it looked hysterical.
How a prequel and sequel to Dumb and Dumber never got made is beyond me!
Now that was some quality work.
After a bit of alcohol and brownies of course….
I heard there will be another Dumb & Dumber movie… maybe not this year tho.
I stopped reading comments somewhere in the middle, so disregard if already said.
BUT, in case of Matrix, Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and other similar movies (I am skipping Twilight, since it was a mistake that they made it in the first place) you can’t really look at them this way. I don’t think that it is fair to even compare some of the Dumb and Dumber 1,2,3,4,5 (I LOVE THE 3DD comment btw) with real work of art that needed to be split in parts.
Also, how many tv-shows are there, that are destroyed by having another season? Or movies that had open ending that never happened (Eragon, Golden compass…)
I was waiting for “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two.”
Looks like I have to wait for the longest…
Good post, I just disagree the part you say:
“But we don’t need a third Big Mamma, a third Alvin and the Chipmunks, a fourth Mission Impossible and Pirates of the Caribbean. And we certainly don’t need a fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. I’m pretty sure we’ll all survive without it.”
If you’re a fan of anyone of these franchises, you would love to see they’ll have a sequel. It’s exactly like if I said, “we don’t need a fourth scream”, couse I personaly deslike it, but you like it, and you would desagree… But yea, hollywood is going on sequels, and could do better… Lots of sequels are ok, if you have double more new movies, that’s what I think.
I’ve never been a person to watch a lot of movies, so for the most part, I haven’t even heard of most of these. I’ve never liked the fast and furious, and I’ve never watched twilight. I am looking forward to a couple, though.
Pirates, X-Men (to an extent), Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter. Aside from those, I’m not very interested.
I do hate that Hollywood is so stripped of original ideas that they have to recycle things that are already milked for all they’re worth. I suppose it’s just what we’ve come to – and due to the economy, people are unwilling to try new ideas, since if it doesn’t turn out well, money will be lost.
We can only hope that things will improve in the near future, so our generation, as well as future ones, will able to enjoy good cinema.
I believe a sequel is appropriate when a good idea or concept similar is greater in quality to the original or previous sequel. Obviously like you point out most sequels are money spinners and hence the films don’t match the original. I also feel, what films like batman have is a series which doesnt require speed and hence a rushed concept or script to generate buzz. The speed of a sequel really for me ruins a film. Good article!
badgerorbyste
Thanks!
Some good ones in the list
I guess you forgot no more ‘Sex and the city 3′
D and piranha 3DD, the double D reminds me of LOL (:DD). good post.
have you joined LAMB (large association of movie blogger)? if not then you should. my movie blog is : http://www.inspiredground.blogspot.com
I see not films, this ist not my area! This is to brutal for me. The one film, that was i see, is Harry Potter 3! This is a good film.
Not a sequel per se but I can see that they will def have many more stories to tell. Can’t wait for this film.
How a prequel and sequel to Dumb and Dumber never got made is beyond me!
Now that was some quality work.
After a bit of alcohol and brownies of course….
Can’t wait for Harry Potter! All about the Deathly Hallows!:)
Two Words!!
Well Written.
Well I’m totally stoked. Yeah they may sequels, but certain movies, such as harry potter, pirates, or twilight, I signed on for the whole thing when I saw the first. It’s like reading a series of books, if it’s good then I want the whole series.
And Piranha.. Oh dear, it’s pretty much cheese with porn- Seriously the sci-fi channel has better movies. Also, because there was an original piranha, this would be number 3 coming out, not two.
Anyways for a long time now there have been very little original movies and the few we get each year become the gems.
Which as a btw, the Adjustment Bureau, fantastic movie, just saw it last night. It comes highly recommended.
okay so i get people don’t get trilogys but if you are a true fan of movies you take the good the bad and the U G L Y. the A films with the B moives i love horror all horror Night of the Demons the origanal 3 evil dead how ever bad i love them for them…….
waiting for breaking dawn and harry potter part 2…. so excited..
I’m pretty excited for some of those. Regardless of their quality I enjoyed their predecessors so much that I can;t help but stand behind the Batman series, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Carribean, and even Mission Impossible IV. I think this was a great post though. Very informative and something a lot of people are interested in. Kudos.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a fun string of movies. I love JD’s Captain Jack character and it’s something the whole family can enjoy. Sure it’s no Matrix, but my mind can easily drift off with those pirate ships and adventure on the high seas. I agree that people should only go see awesome movies in theaters, however teens seem to like the stupid movies and always will.
Why can’t we see more of the creative films made for film festivals in the major theaters? Small teams can be just as good or better than the franchises monopolizing Hollywood today.
Oh, and isn’t Bourne 4 due out this year? I’ll never get tired of Matt
I would love to see something new come into the theaters. Though some sequels like Pirates and HP VIII hold promise the rest don’t seem worth the time and money.
Congrats on being freshly pressed!
I can’t believe Scream is already at #4….
Interesting post
Cheers
Niconica
http://niconica.wordpress.com
Ugh, it’s just tiresome isn’t it? I’m jonesing for some fresh ideas here but alas, it’s a rare thing these days.
I will say the title of the new Piranha sequel did make me laugh. Then I scowled at myself for it.
I would hope for a new Ghostbusters too! Scream films weren’t good in my eyes. Even if they reboot the franchise with the next three (all planned I -believe) – it’ll be a repeat of what’s been done. I actually like Pirates of the C. I thought they’ve all been funny, what they can do with it now is another matter. And Hoodwinked was very clever, a sequel would hopefully be about another fairytale story unrelated to the first. Lots of potential for that.
The rest don’t appear on my radar. I won’t bother thinking about them, let alone watching.
Really? You say that a fourth Pirates movie isn’t needed but you expect Scream 4 to be a “Blast”?
Man, you almost read my mind word for word.
The POTC sequels may have declined in quality a bit, but they are still 10x better than any of the Scream movies.
The same can be said for the Mission Impossible franchise. The first was very good; the second, well, not so much; and MI:3 was back to the quality of the original (thank you J.J. Abrams). Each of these will always be better than Scream 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6……
Also, souldn’t the Ghostbusters franchise just be left alone? A third installment is definitely not necessary, especially with the rumored directions the story is going. A younger group taking over the reins from the original four? No thanks!
TOTALLY. There are certain franchises that should not be touched. These include stories that were classics and to be re-done would require an entire new cast, which in the case of movies from the Ghostbuster era, was the reason people watched them. In those days there were FAR fewer movies coming out, FAR fewer actors/actresses, and the idea of a ‘Tween’ movie like Twilight would have been laughed out of the offices of any producer.
I would also like to touch on the fact that you consider the new X-men movie a sequel. It’s a totally different genre, being the original crew who formed the group, and while it still pertains to the ‘marvel universe’, thats like saying the wolverine movie was a sequel to X-Men 2.
Yikes, that’s a boat load of sequels indeed! The only two sequels I’ll be watching are X-Men: First Class and Deathly Hallows Part II. Now, First Class is more of a prequel actually.
Your entry is very comprehensive and insightful. Normally, i just avoid all sequal movies and stick to indie flicks. I wrote an entry here that may compliment what you say: http://sherryndaniel.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/jbp-holstershigh-quality-for-a-low-rate/
The only one I am looking forward to is the last HP movie. Ever since they started making the movies – shortly after I started reading the books – I have loved them! The acting and directing has gotten better with each film.
I’m saddened by the fact that Breaking Dawn is in two parts. Waste of a movie, in my opinion.
Except some movies like “Lord of the Ring” with an intension of making a series of movies. Most of the remaking movie are getting worse.
Some exceptions,
1) God Father II
2) Toy Story III
3) Terminator II
Some worst examples,
1) Scream
2) Iron Man
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Maybe it’s time for all of us bloggers to take some time to write some new scripts. It pays pretty good & would be nice to have some fresh ideas out there. I do like some sequels though, but you can go to far!
Is it because we are running out of original ideas, or that we are getting lazy and look to make money without even really trying or creating at all?
I’m not totally against sequels and you are right. If they stop making money people will stop making them. I don’t see the need for most of them either but what studio is going to turn down a few or even 100 million dollars for making one. Now if they still make Harry Potter sequels after the books are done we are all in trouble. Crank 3 anyone?
I think we are all losing our imaginations. Some sequels are good but a lot of them are stupid and rather lame. I wish there was an untaken idea that would be the ultimate movie/series. Also I think all this Twilight junk is… well… junk. It’s changing our society into demonic practices of sucking each others blood. I would carry on speaking of the uselessness of some of these movies but I’m just going to go write a book (which are much more intriguing than movies because you could obtain more details and an entirely better plot).
The only sequels I’m excited for are Scream, Cars, Harry Potter, and the Pirates of the Caribbean. But this was a good post.
I wouldn’t class Breaking Dawn and Deathly Hallows as sequels (at least not the somewhat pejorative and deprecating tones you are using) – in the same way that I wouldn’t class The Two Towers as a sequel to The Fellowship of The Ring.
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the hangover 2… too far! and a puss in boots spin off!? they really are short on ideas.
Pirates of the carribean, transformers & scream will be pretty cool though.
half of the movies that are making a second didnt even get watched the first time round
I really hate the remakes. True Grit? I know, I know, it was award winning but it still can’t hold a candle to the original. Are the screenwriters lazy or just untalented without an original thought in their collective heads.
Great post and as for me, I look forward to the final Harry Potter film and the third Big Momma movie too.
Piranha 3DD? That’s hilarious.
That’s an awesome post, really enjoyed it! I never knew there were so many sequels, prequels, etc.. Seems like Hollywood isn’t coming up with much new ideas?
Gah, the sequels!
I think it’s acceptable when it’s based on a book, because the book comes in sequels, but when it’s just redundant sequeling, hollywood obviously needs some new ideas!
I hate it when they split the movies into two parts because I remember in HP and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1, Harry and Hermione spent about half the time thinking and waiting, which wasn’t too exciting.
Great post!
Hmm , never thought another Big Mama’s house movie
Would come out , Smh ; Hollywood isn’t doin so hot riqht now .
http://beautyofself.wordpress.com/ (Celebrating African American beauty)
You’re joking! The amount of sequels which you’ve listed here is staggering. I mean, who would’ve expected this many sequels to come out in a single year? Can’t wait for Harry Potter though (obviously). Hopefully the pirates sequel can live to the old ones without Orlando bloom and Keira knightly.
waw….awesome…lotta good movies I should watch to
Well, this is what publishers have been doing with books. Having a sequel means name author, more targeted audience. That is why stand alone books are not going to have heaps of success anymore. Given movies get most plots through books or print mediums, I am unsurprised it has translated over into screen world.
I’ve heard rumor that saying those films won’t be played in Indonesia because of tax things……… so sad
Not trying to pee in anyone’s Captain Crunch, but it’s me again… Devil’s Advocate. If the comment posters are any way, shape or form a microcosm of the public at large, either these sequels will by and large do horribly at the box office or they’re proving Dr. House’s catchphrase “everybody lies”.
As much as we groan about sequels, the truth of the matter is that at least they’re familiar ground. Cinematic comfort food. So when people find themselves bored on a Friday night in Regularsville, America and they have to choose between four movies they never heard of and “Something Something 3″ guess what happens.
On a plus side with sequels: if done right they can dispense with all that pesky background story and just get in with the action. They don’t have to spend 35 minutes trying to get the audience to come to know how a guy with finger knives and a red sweater can kill people in their sleep.
On a downside: Hollywood often tanks on this fact.
“Sequels, prequels, and spin-offs comprise over a fifth of the currently scheduled nationwide releases”
I have not investigated the current crop, but to make matters worse there is at least one other similarly lacking-in-fantasy category of recent popularity: The remake and its close relative the alternate filmatization of the same original source.
(Notably, many of these are “under cover” as with e.g. “I am legend”.)
The best sequels are out this year
looking forward to scream! Just love their movies.. Thank you for the heads up.
Linda
http://onsalenow.org.uk
Doesn’t anyone have any NEW ideas??!!!
It’s the third install of Big Momma’s house that bugs me the most. Can you imagine how totally UN-funny it will be? Oh brother…. K
Nicely done! I don’t mind sequels if they’re done right and actually build on the mythos of the franchise.
Agreed. It’s also the year of the comic book heros. Enjoy! Good post!
they should make a despicable me 2. just sayin… congrats on FP!!
Well… so what? The majority of films that are released every year are always rubbish. I find the easiest way to live with this is not to watch them. There’ll be plenty of great films too. In fact there already HAVE been a bundle of good ‘uns already. True Grit, Black Swan, King’s Speech… and we’re only in March!
Personally, I think you have a 50/50 shot if you’re making a sequel. It will either add to the original story and create enthusiasm from a probably already-made fan base or it will completely flop. Not all films can beat Star Wars, James Bond, and Rocky, but recently many films have tried and come close at the very least, namely, the Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and Twilight movies. Like Harry Potter, the last Twilight film is also being split into two parts.
NICE
http://www.zonadiaria.com
Great post and congrats on the FP!!
I didn’t know about Scream 4. Mahalo!
Nice informative article on sequels, prequels and spin offs. I am looking forward to watch the fourth installment of Mission impossible series. Also Dark knight’s return – the third in Batman series will be worth to watch.
Thanks
Prashant Badiger
Reimagine, repackage, repeat. Regurgitate.
Imagine waking up in a strange bed with an ugly partner. That’s what some of these movies are like. You thought you were in for a good thing. You wake up in the dark later frightened and confused. You’ll save yourself the time, money and recrimination the wasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.
I wouldn’t mind if most of these movies weren’t terrible. Just terrible. Something that couldn’t wait for a rental or netflix streaming. Or better yet not at all. Most TV programs have smoked film in story content and quality. And I don’t have to pay $15 a ticket to find out whether it’s crap or not. Anyway, congrats on the front page.
http://madmonq.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/reimagine-repackage-repeat/
http://madmonq.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/reimagine-repackage-repeat-2-the-sequel/
http://madmonq.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/reimagine-repackage-repeat-3-more-of-the-same/
I love reading post about movies. thank you for this.
That’s really a lot of sequels coming up this year :O
I am still waiting patiently for Braveheart 2.
It’d be interesting to see if it would turn into a zombie apocalypse type movie, with Mel Gibson rising from the dead to a re-newed career.
And with that horror scenario goes my sleep for tonight…
I think there are some sequels worth watching, but I agree that a lot of the time it’s overdone. I especially hate when they take movies that were great as stand alones and add more to it. Seriously – why? Certain things are clearly made to be a franchise – superhero movies for example. They’re set up that way from the beginning. But other movies? Ugh.
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You make out like another Big Momma film is a bad thing.
I’m actually pretty syked about a lot of the sequels being released this year. Pirates, Harry Potter…. I don’t mind movie series when they’re made with quality.
Gosh, you are so right! It’s horrible!
Haha the extra D is for Dumb lol. It’s bad enough that they had so many Harry Potter movies and let’s face it the twilight series is getting worse with every movie that comes out. When are they going to learn that we need something original instead of just reruns? Great post I completely agree, what happened to the creativity from hollywood? I think it died.
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Interesting post
That’s completely insane! Its like all the Hollywood writer’s don’t have a single creative bone in their bodies! All the movies worth watching have been done already! And when they can’t think of another way to re-interpret Romeo and Juliet, they screw up books and make them into movies! Must I remind everyone of the many book-to-movie failures? Blood and Chocolate, Golden Compass, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Lovely Bones, and yes even the Twilight saga. There are plenty more that Hollywood has ‘borrowed’ and made into a movie, but at the cost of ruining the beauty of these books. Way to go Hollywood. Way to go.
I strongly protest calling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 a “sequel”. It’s the last chapter in an epic novel.
Sequels are where studio heads decide which demographic liked which movie and shamelessly crank out a scantily-disguised clone of the same movie.
Too bad Indonesia won’t show any of those superb movies in the cinemas
geez, those are sequels and I’ve watched the previous parts of those movies! No fair 
A new Muppets? I like that idea! You’re right, most of those are dumb, but I’m excited for some: Transformers, Puss in Boots, Harry Potter (finally finish the series!), Cars, Sherlock Holmes…but most of the rest don’t need to be there.
I’d like a 3rd Ace Ventura movie. Alrighty, then.
Luh-who-zuh-her.
Hmmmm…. it could save Jim Carrey’s fledgling career. Or destroy him. The sequel was really bad, but the original was surprisingly hilarious.
Also, Julie, the link on your name just goes to wordpress. You should update it to go to your blog.
Pirates of Carribean is such a great movie. There is still the demand for more of it. There is a moral lesson that you can get. Children enjoyed this film.
Thank you for your blog, this is very useful to me.
This is a good blog. Keep up all the work. I too love blogging and expressing my opinions. Thanks
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WOW! I never knew that there were so many sequels, prequals, and spin-offs out there. I also love the name of the Piranna 3-DD. Really sad. Couldn’t they have come up with a better title. Piranna 3-D 2 would have been bearable but DD. Nice post.
Well… so what? The majority of films that are released every year are always rubbish. I find the easiest way to live with this is not to watch them. There’ll be plenty of great films too. In fact there already HAVE been a bundle of good ‘uns already. True Grit, Black Swan, King’s Speech… and we’re only in March!
You’re joking! The amount of sequels which you’ve listed here is staggering. I mean, who would’ve expected this many sequels to come out in a single year? Can’t wait for Harry Potter though (obviously). Hopefully the pirates sequel can live to the old ones without Orlando bloom and Keira knightly.
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I agree with your 2011, The Year of the Sequel | The Movie Brothers, excellent post.
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