In the past, the film industry was a sanctuary for creativity and success, offering entertainment all across the globe regardless of language and culture. Its main purpose was to entice audiences and make them feel connected with the characters onscreen, regardless of the obvious falseness within TV and media- this is how we as a society grow increasingly dependent on the ‘classics’ for entertainment, due to their originality and connection with their audience. However, as time progresses, the film industry has begun its steady decline. The modern industry is becoming more and more reliant on older media, driven by nostalgia within its audience and financial priorities. The ‘classics’, such as Back To The Future, 1985, Ghostbusters, 1984, and Jurassic Park, 1993, were innovative and artistic, intriguing audiences with their unique storylines and characters. Nowadays, movies yield short-term profits yet risk audience fatigue with their loss of original ideas, increasing disdain for the modern film industry.
In the past, reboots, remakes and sequels were made scarcely, only making an appearance when an audience truly desires the return of their favourite characters. For example, the success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 1994, starring Jim Carrey, meant that audiences longed for a sequel to view the development of Ace, a whimsical character designed for comedy, targeting their audience with catchphrases and jokes- earning $72 million at the US Box Office. This led to the sequel Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, 1995, which was commercially successful due to the return of their protagonist. This sequel used a larger budget and earned higher box office returns than the first, at $108 million, due to the audiences’ true wish for a sequel upon the first’s release. However, as the film industry has begun its downfall, the number of reboots, remakes and sequels has drastically increased; made clear by the show reboot of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective, 2009, Widely criticized and considered non-canon by fans. The explosion of remakes and reboots has meant that originality in television has taken a serious hit, with new plots, characters and ideas becoming more difficult to find in movies than they ever have been before.
The increased dependence on the safety nets of previous success have meant that since 2010, the number of remake movies released per annum has increased by 20%, as discovered by WorldMetrics. This means that the industry has begun to give up on their efforts to produce newer films, instead choosing to target adults who had grown up watching their past successes. Therefore, audiences slowly become uninterested in the newest releases, due to the original movies simply being more enticing and exciting than their present-day remakes. In the last decade, 50% of the top-grossing films have been remakes, reboots or sequels of older movies- highlighting the lack of original concept used today in the film industry, as audiences grow accustomed to older characters being used in modern media. Disney’s live-action remakes alone have grossed over $9 billion globally, due to their increased reliance on classic stories of the 20th century, focusing heavily on their Disney Princess franchise; such as the original Snow White, 1938, remake, 2025. Despite critical reviews of the originals’ fans, Disney’s remakes have continued to perform well due to their utilisation of their past influence. This demonstrates the nostalgia-driven methods used within the film industry, prioritising comfort over innovation in their recent releases, stifling old storytelling and making originals somewhat of a thing of the past. 69% of viewers prefer remakes of films they watched in childhood, as stated by WorldMetrics, as the reviewing of their past favourites ignites the passion of early life and creates a feeling of bittersweet longing for their youth; childhood seems like yesterday when one is faced with it later.
In the past, the film industry used creative risks in their production process, casting unknown faces to play their protagonists and experimenting with out-of-the-box plots and messages- the individual visions of writers, producers and directors were made clear through their work, as originality was used freely. While oftentimes these methods failed to bring in high profits, classic movies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1987, and The Karate Kid, 1984, became renowned worldwide for their humour and intriguing plots. However, even classics have become a foundation for remakes and reboots, as seen in the four sequels to The Karate Kid,- The Karate Kid Part II, 1986, The Karate Kid Part III, 1989, and The Next Karate Kid, 1994- alongside the remake The Karate Kid, 2010, spin-off show, Cobra Kai, 2018-2025, and reboot Karate Kid: Legends, 2025. While these attempts to bring back the magic of the original worked well within the industry, over time, the original concept of The Karate Kid’s initial trilogy has become uncared for in the film industry, due to the constant pushing and recycling of it onto audiences.
Yet, the film industry clearly prioritizes financial incentives rather than the importance of creative risks, as remakes have a 25% higher ROI and 30% shorter production cycle than original, independent films. Studios globally prefer to use proven concepts, characters and storylines within their productions, in order to minimize risks and maximize returns, as they attempt to increase revenue whilst decreasing expenditure. By doing this, studios build their business further using their older successes to regain traction. Even streaming services take part in the production of remakes and reboots, in order to retain subscribers interested in the original films or shows- for example, Netflix’s original He’s All That, starring Tanner Buchanan and Addison Rae was released in 2021 as a remake of She’s All That, 1999. The casting of a prominent figure in the media in the remake, Addison Rae, a past star of app ‘TikTok’, and current music artist, meant that both fans of the original film and those of Addison’s online persona came together to subscribe to Netflix to enjoy the modern spin of the 1999 love story.
Despite the efforts of the industry, remakes, reboots and sequels often fail to capture the essence of their originals- altering plot points, miscasting iconic roles or mischaracterizing beloved characters. This can even happen when attempting to transform a classic piece of literature into film, as shown by the several adaptations of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, published 1947, as canonically black protagonist Heathcliff was continuously cast as white, and 17th century, upper-middle class protagonist Catherine was cast as a modern ‘babe’. The inaccuracies of non-original films mean that audiences grow resentful of them, as they seem to taint the original’s magic- many fans often ignore sequels or reboots of older movies or series and claim them not to be canon, due to their failure to stay aligned with the original’s truth, diluting the success. Overall, remakes receive 15% lower critic scores on average than original films, and nearly 40% of TV show remakes are cancelled within two seasons. This is because the originality and excitement of the initial movie or series is dampened in remade productions, leading to unengaged audiences that grow tired of the same story being released constantly. The desire for better productions or more accurate remakes builds as time goes on, as expectations of audiences are not met by even a remake, reboot or sequel that was initially desired- for example, Ghostbusters, released as a remake in 2016, received mixed reception from audiences due to tonal shifts and lack of original ideas.. This is why the use of social media regarding the film industry has grown massively over time, as young people take to platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to create their own productions for entertainment. This also links to the rise in Fanfiction online, with platforms such as Wattpad and Archive Of Our Own (AO3) having risen drastically in popularity in the last decade, to create their own media regarding their favourite films, franchises or series.
Conclusively, the film industry’s increasing dependence on its previous successes has become a double-edged sword over time, as the constant recycling of old concepts may lead to their eventual failure to create satisfying cinema for its audiences worldwide. Remakes, reboots and sequels offering financial security simultaneously create distance between the industry and its target audiences, as they threaten the art of production. Hollywood’s past influence becomes more shadowed as originality becomes lost and forgotten, with only the concept of the film industry’s former glory left during its downfall.
Celestemere
Notes From The In-Between
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