A movie franchise is Definition and opportunities, an overview of the best franchises

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Any fan of the film industry knows firsthand about such a thing as a "franchise". The popularity of this phenomenon is also perfectly explainable, because if you have a ready-made idea that has shown itself well at the box office, you can continue to shoot an endless number of sequels, prequels and spin-offs. Does it bring income to filmmakers? Undoubtedly. Does the franchise have any negative impact on the industry as a whole? Of course. Today we will try to understand the concept of a franchise in cinema: what does it mean and what are its features. As a bonus, we will look at examples of the most popular paintings that are the product of activity in this direction.

A movie franchise is…

When talking about the phenomenon we are considering in the film industry, it is often called another word - media franchise. The term encompasses not only films, but also other entertainment products such as games, series, books and comics.

In simple terms, a movie franchise is a series of films that are related to each other by the same theme. Usuallythey feature the same characters or the same setting. If we approach this issue from a more scientific side, we will get the following definition: a film franchise is an intellectual property contract consisting of a certain entourage, a cast of fictional characters and other details of a uniquely developed "universe". Usually we are talking about a series of films or separate sequels and prequels, which are either a direct continuation of the stories told in the original films, or a plot branch.

Acquiring the rights to a movie franchise is a guarantee that the buyer gets the idea, the product name and much more of what was listed earlier. Engaging in such projects is very profitable, since the director already has a ready-made ideological line with a good reputation, on the basis of which you can shoot a successful picture in advance.

What could be in a movie franchise?

When a successful film is taken under the wing of particularly enterprising producers, various sequels, prequels and spin-offs begin to appear on the screens. Surely even an ordinary viewer has heard these terms at least once. As a rule, sequels refer to the second and all subsequent films in the franchise. They are a direct continuation of the first part and develop the storyline started earlier. Sometimes the third and fourth films get their own names - triquels (more frequent use) and quadriquels (used less often). Conversely, pictures that reveal events that precede the firstparts are called prequels.

As for the term "spin-off", it refers to films that are in the same "universe" as the original story. So, in simple words, a movie franchise is a kind of "offshoot" from the main plot, remaining within the framework of the general concept. The clearest example would be the forthcoming spin-off of the popular TV series Game of Thrones, which will start its final season this year.

Finally, having figured out what a movie franchise means, we move on to the most interesting. Let's try to recall the best representatives of this phenomenon, which are well known to the modern viewer. Note that the location of the films in the article is arbitrary, we did not rely on any special ratings. The only thing they have in common is fame and high profitability.

Marvel

Since the release of the first Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to carve out a spot at the top of the global box office. Every year, the franchise delights its fans with new adventures of famous superheroes straight from the pages of comics. Thor, Hulk, Captain America, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man are just a few of the iconic Marvel characters about which separate films were made, but within the same universe. It's safe to say that Hollywood's top-grossing company will continue on its path and hopefully release many more successful films in the future.

Harry Potter

Another of the most profitable movie franchises of our time. Despite the fact that the story about the boy who survived has a fairly even literary basis, its embodiment in the films turned out to be completely different. In the first two parts, director Chris Columbus managed to tell a trivial family tale and stayed true to the original atmosphere of magic. With the release of the third film, the franchise began to take on a darker and more gloomy tone - both in terms of plot and technical solutions. Now that the Potter story has come to an end, Fantastic Beasts, a series of other films from the same "universe", has begun to appear on the screens.

James Bond

Speaking of the longest-running film franchises, one cannot fail to mention Bondiana. This mega-popular series of films about a British spy was released back in 1961 and continues to delight fans to this day. One of her secrets to longevity is that more than one actor plays the role of Bond. The modern viewer is probably used to Daniel Craig, but other icons such as Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy D alton and Roger Moore managed to visit the 007 status before him.

Die Hard

Let's not stray far from the militants and remember, perhaps, the most stellar role of Bruce Willis. In "Die Hard" the actor plays a character named John McClane - always a little tired and close to alcoholism police officer. The first part of the film franchise came out already in 1988 andIt was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Roderick Thorpe. To date, there are 5 films, each of which was remembered by the viewer not only for excellent action scenes, but also for very charismatic villains.

Lord of the Rings

Perhaps the best fantasy franchise in cinema is the film adaptation of two of the most famous works of the world famous English writer JRR Tolkien. Both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies brought their creators nearly $6 billion. And while many fans continue heated discussions regarding The Hobbit, there is no denying the fact that the long-awaited "Return to Middle-earth" managed to collect a very good box office. Overall, the Lord of the Rings film franchise has received great praise from audiences and critics alike, receiving 37 Oscar nominations and winning 18 of them.

Star Wars

A real gem among all the film franchises of our time. Initially, George Lucas conceived "Star Wars" as a cycle consisting of 9 pictures. The first trilogy was released in 1977 and was able to earn a resounding success, earning over $ 2 billion. With the development of new digital technologies, the "sequel" saw the light in the form of a second trilogy, which was actually a prequel to the original films. Now George Lucas has already moved away from his offspring, but the release of new paintings in the Star Wars universe continues to this day. This time atThe "steering wheel" turned out to be the Disney company, whose work raises many questions among some fans of the space saga. Despite this, Star Wars continues to make a profit, which means that the franchise is definitely not going to leave the screens.

Indiana Jones

There is no doubt that the Indiana Jones movies have always dominated the adventure movie niche with thrilling chases and ancient treasure hunts. The franchise already has 4 full-length films and one series that tells about the adventures of the protagonist in his youth. On the screen, the image of the charming archaeologist Jones was first embodied by Harrison Ford. Subsequently, the role was tried on by another actor, but it was only as part of a serial spin-off. Despite his age, Harrison Ford plans to star in the fifth part of the franchise, which is rumored to be released in 2021.

Fast and Furious

The release of the seventh film in the franchise literally blew up the world box office. In just seventeen days, Fast & Furious 7 managed to raise over $1 billion. Of course, such a rush to watch the seventh part can also be associated with the tragic death of one of the leading actors - Paul Walker. It is not known whether the same resounding success awaits the franchise in the future. After the release of "Fast and the Furious 8" it became clear that the audience is ready to continue to go to the cinema to watch new parts and pay good money for it. Let's see what result will show the futurefranchise pictures that are already being prepared for release.

Pirates of the Caribbean

The indisputable key to the success of the best movie franchise about pirates was Johnny Depp, who played one of his best roles. The eccentric Jack Sparrow has been the protagonist of all the films released to date, the total number of which is 5. By the time the film "Dead Men Tell No Tales" was released, the franchise managed to earn over 3.7 billion dollars. Rumor has it that Depp will leave his famous role as Sparrow and will no longer return to filming the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean. It is unlikely that the producers will abandon one of the highest-grossing movie franchises, so, most likely, in the future, the adventures of new pirates will await us!

Batman

Perhaps the only DC comic book superhero to build one of the most famous movie franchises around him. He had to endure a lot of restarts - both among films and among animation. Actors such as Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton and George Clooney have already played the role of this famous crime fighter. Director Christopher Nolan managed to take the Batman film franchise to a new level, who directed an entire trilogy dedicated to the Dark Knight. This time around, Christian Bale took on the lead role, and the films themselves took on a darker and more serious tone than their predecessors. Batman is currently played by Ben Affleck, and although there have been no separate films with him yet, the release of the long-awaited solo album is planned for 2020.

Alien

A series of sci-fi horror films about an extremely aggressive alien creature. The main series of films consists of 4 parts, the very first of which was released in 1979 with Sigourney Weaver in the title role. Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, as well as the future author of "Amelie" Jean-Pierre Janet managed to visit the director's chair. In 2012, a new picture from Ridley Scott called "Prometheus" was released, which was supposed to be a prehistory to the popular original. Later, the second trilogy acquired an independent direction and refused the title of "direct prequel", while still remaining in the same universe as "Alien". The release of the final film, as the director promises, will help dot the i.

Mad Max

Most likely, many viewers first got acquainted with this franchise in 2015, when "Fury Road" was released, which became a real commercial success. In fact, the Mad Max series of films originated back in the 70s, when the main role was played not by Tom Hardy, but by Mel Gibson. At that time, this genre was just beginning its formation, and it was the second part of the franchise that managed to start a real "boom" of post-apocalyptic cinema around the world. Despite the fact that "Mad Max" in 1979 did not gain much popularity at first, it was decided to shoot a sequel. The first and second films were shot by Australian director George Miller, and hebrought Max back to the big screen in the 2015 reboot. At the moment, the next part called "The Wasteland" is being prepared, in which Tom Hardy will continue to play the main role.

A few more worthy projects can add to our list of movie franchises: "Jurassic Park", "Mission Impossible", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Halloween", "Resident Evil", "Terminator", "Godzilla" "," Men in Black ", etc. In fact, the vast majority of the modern film industry consists of franchises. Many of them perform excellently at the box office, many, in the opinion of most viewers, it is better to retire. In any case, it is up to the viewer to watch and support this or that franchise.