Since the beginning of the film industry, some movies have launched to stardom while others have stayed in the movie slumps. When a movie gains success, studios often wish to recreate that same success in the only way they know how: making a sequel or spin off.
The film industry’s obsession with creating unnecessary sequels is nothing new. The “Ferris Bueller” (1990) series, for instance, is a prequel of the hit movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986). While the first movie is widely considered a classic, the series that followed was cancelled only after 13 episodes due to how much backlash fans gave.
Another failed attempt at a successful spin-off is the “Dirty Dancing” series (1988), which aimed to relive the global fame achieved by the original film “Dirty Dancing” (1987). The series only released one season and was never seen again, let alone remembered.
Since both Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing are older movies, some may feel that the failure of their spin-offs was a result of the time period rather than the idea. Others may suggest that it was the topic of the spin-offs— focusing on the characters embarking on a new adventure— that was the issue. Maybe if they chose a similar storyline with different characters, they would find more success. Filmmakers have considered all of these possibilities and more, but have yet to find the formula for a hit spin-off.
Even with newer movies, spin-offs have been unsuccessful. A good example is the movie Wonder Woman (2017), a movie that focused on the story on how Diana became Wonder Woman. The first movie was well received with a whopping 93% on Rotten Tomatoes along with being nominated for and winning a bunch of awards. Meanwhile the second movie, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), remained an unmemorable movie that has remained a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes since its release.
Another problem with all of these spin-offs and story continuations is that the filmmakers try too hard to recreate the same success. They focus so much energy on trying to make certain parts of the story complete, that they neglect the rest of the story and leave it feeling incomplete.
While unsuccessful spin-offs continue to be made, many original movies have come out and out-performed them, such as Superman by James Gunn, or Sinners by Ryan Coogler. Both are on completely opposite sides of the movie making spectrum. Superman by James Gunn obviously follows the popular comic book character, Superman, in an original story not connected to previous movies or comics. While Sinners by Ryan Coogler is an original screenplay that was turned into a renowned movie earning 97% on rotten tomatoes. Both movies show how it doesn’t take another movie’s success to make a movie successful.
Based on reviews and profits, people seem to want more original movies and shows rather than the same story with the same characters just retold in a slightly different way. While a few franchises slip through the cracks on stardom’s door, many aren’t so lucky and end up being a waste of time and money. It’s better to just take a chance with an original script that could turn into an amazing movie rather than choosing to do a continuation to something already done.
