“Dread It, Run From It, Sequels Will Arrive All The Same”
Much like the Indian film industries, Hollywood too is suffering from the same disease. Films are not working as they used to, quality of films have gone down, ticket prices have gone up, streaming platforms are rising, studios are dictating terms more than ever and artists are not able to create art as freely as they used to.
Even when all these factors are true, they are still quite ahead in terms of quality. Most of the films that are earning big, are highly praised by both audience and critics. Most, not all.
Nostalgia is raking in the money for Hollywood, same as it is doing in India. Studios are focusing more on sequels, even when they are not really needed. Check out the list below and tell us which ones deserve to be in the list and which ones do not.
For the first time ever in last 50 years, all top 10 highest grossing movies are sequels
| S No. | Film | Box Office |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inside Out 2 | $1,698,217,953 |
| 2 | Deadpool & Wolverine | $1,337,900,827 |
| 3 | Despicable Me 4 | $968,240,710 |
| 4 | Dune: Part Two | $714,444,358 |
| 5 | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | $571,750,016 |
| 6 | Kung Fu Panda 4 | $547,634,675 |
| 7 | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | $451,072,781 |
| 8 | Venom: The Last Dance | $439,935,445 |
| 9 | Bad Boys: Ride or Die | $404,516,167 |
| 10 | Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | $397,378,150 |
The Untouched Genre
It is interesting to note that 3 out of 10 movies in the list are animated films. Something we do not take seriously in India. We have very few good animated movies such as The Return of Hanuman by Anurag Kashyap, Roadside Romeo by Jugal Hansraj, but both are more than 16 years old. Sadly there are not many that are memorable or even worth watching.
Animated films do not require stardom and PR, which Indian film industries rely on very heavily these days. They require pure creativity, honesty and storytelling. It is not about just kids, adults watch animated films as much. It all depends on how good the film is. Many animated films of Disney and Pixar are way better in terms of story, characters and uniqueness, than several high budget movies of big stars in India.
If you are still not convinced, here is another fact:
In the list of highest grossers of all time in the world, 12 animated films have crossed $1Billion mark.
Not Everyone Loves Sequels
Star Wars creator George Lucas hit out at the trend earlier this year in an interview with French publication Brut official. “The stories they’re telling are just old movies,” he claimed. “‘Let’s do a sequel, let’s do another version of this movie.’ There’s no original thinking… the big studios… they don’t have an imagination.”
Be it Hollywood, Bollywood or any other Industry, sequels are fine only when the intent is storytelling and not cashgrab. The quality of cinema is going down globally, with very few projects being worthy of our time and money. What are your thoughts on this?
Author: Ishan Jain
Also read: List of all upcoming sequels in India
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