Every box office Top 10 for 2024 was a sequel or prequel

[thewayne]

Wow. Now my question is: is that reflective of the audience, or Hollywood's unwillingness to take risk, or how much of both?

Here's the list:
10. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
9. Venom: The Last Dance
8. Kung Fu Panda 4
7. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
6. Wicked
5. Dune: Part Two
4. Moana 2
3. Despicable Me 4
2. Deadpool & Wolverine
1. Inside Out 2

Interestingly, I've only seen four of these: Dune, Despicable Me, Deadpool/Wolvie, and Inside Out. I plan on seeing KFP4 and I expect we'll see Moana while it's in the theaters. My interest in owning any of these is very, very low. What I want is the B&W version of Godzilla Zero! Now that film I really enjoyed!

https://www.slashfilm.com/1745855/highest-grossing-movies-of-2024/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/peak-top-10-lists-recording-movie-theater-screens-1236092926/

Comments

[richardf8]

I'm really ambivalent about calling Wicked a prequel. Granted it's set in Oz at a time prior to the Wizard of Oz, but it's based on what is, in essence, a novel length fanfic.

[thewayne]

Completely agree on Wicked.  I'm guessing since it's based on a well-known property that's already a movie, made at least twice, that it pretty much qualifies.  I started reading it some time ago: it just didn't do much to engage me and got set aside unfinished.

[ranunculus]

Can't speak to the film version, but I really liked Wicked in the pre-Broadway tryout version. Not so much in the Broadway version.

[warriorsavant]

To answer your question, probably more Hollywood than Main Street. Have seen a few of these, and have to say that I liked them: Dune 2, Despicable Me 4, Inside Out 2 (maybe KFP 4, but might have been another of the series - can't seriously call them franchises).

[disneydream06]

I've only seen two of them, Inside Out 2 and Moana 2.
I have the dvd for Inside Out 2, and will get the Moana 2 as well.

I have had to chuckle, I keep reading about all the records that Wicked is breaking, and if they breaking records with the amount they have made so far, the other records must not have been all that big. :o
Hugs, Jon

[moxie_man]

The only one I saw on this list was DM4 and I was disappointed by it. I think it's Hollywood's fault that all we seem to get are prequels/sequels these days.

[thewayne]

They know people will go to sequels, and now prequels.  Non-American cinema and indie theaters seem to be about the only place to see distinctive quality films these days.  Hollywood is now owned by mega-corps who are very risk-averse, they want guaranteed ROI and don't want to take a chance that a film might lose money or not return sufficient profit.

[moxie_man]

Alas, there aren't enough indie theaters in a small population state like Maine. It's a long drive to see such, provided the schedule fits your schedule.

[thewayne]

We have an indie/art house theater in Las Cruces, had a membership to it when we lived there.  And theoretically we're moving back there in a few months.  They'll show one film for a week, and do little film festivals every few months.  It's a very cool little place and they do actual butter on their popcorn!

[moxie_man]

There is an indie/art house theater 20 miles up the road. Alas, when they get in something I'd like to see, their schedule doesn't match when I'm available. real butter on their popcorn too, along with assorted powder flavor toppings you can add on your own if you want it flavored. They teamed-up with the local Ivy League-wanna-be liberal arts college to relocate into a larger space downtown a couple years ago. My brother, having a contract with said college to maintain their audio/visual and all wiring for such, wound-up doing the installation for their projector/audio system for all three screens.

[thewayne]

Our place is much simpler.  One screen, week night showings at 7pm.  I think they do matinees on the weekend, I don't recall.

[silveradept]

Not surprised, and blaming Hollywood more than Main Street, because they're the gatekeepers and people would probably enjoy more original works of they only had the opportunity to see them.