Is Hollywood’s summer of soap operas doomed?
Hollywood is gearing up for the summer blockbuster season, and major studios are hoping to repeat the success of Barbenheimer’s film in 2023.
The 2024 summer season looks very different from last year, with sequels, reboots and remakes dominating the schedules in favor of original IP. The question remains: Is it possible to have box office success with such a lineup?
According to a new survey, Millennials and Gen Z are looking for original content when it comes to entertainment. It seems like the next superhero movie or reboot just isn’t for them anymore, and the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer has certainly proven that to be the case with the former surpassing £1 billion at the box office and the latter almost reaching it.
The survey, conducted by streaming platform Tubi, found that 74% of millennial and Gen Z viewers prefer to watch original content rather than remakes or sequels. In a statement about the data, according to IndieWire, Tobey said: “Viewers are increasingly looking for new and innovative ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible rather than rehashed versions of existing stories.”
Viewers don’t want to watch the same old things. This means Hollywood may face a bit of an uphill battle when it comes to the summer 2024 season, which is mostly focused on existing intellectual properties.
Just some of the titles scheduled to hit theaters include Twisters, Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Furiosa.
Not to mention a remake of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgard, sequels to Bad Boys 4, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One.
The next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool & Wolverine, is also expected to be one of the big releases of the summer. Then there’s Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off Kraven the Hunter, and Borderlands, an adaptation of the video game of the same name.
On the other side of things, there’s The Bikeriders, one of the few examples of original intellectual property to be released this summer. The film follows the rise of a fictional outlaw motorcycle gang over the course of a decade, with Austin Butler leading the film as Benny, starring opposite a cast that includes Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s new film The Fall Guy could also be considered original content, because even though it’s based on the 1980s series of the same name, most audience members won’t necessarily realize that — much like how the original TV show was overshadowed by Mission: Impossible.
The film has already gotten early buzz, with Steven Spielberg praising the film, so it’s entirely possible that The Fall Guy could be the big box office winner of 2024.
So what do we know about what’s coming out in the summer? Well, by the looks of the trailers for Twisters and Alien: Romulus, for example, it’s hard not to see the stark similarities they share with their predecessors.
For example, Fede Álvarez’s Alien sequel is the seventh in the series and follows a crew in space terrorized by xenomorphs. The trailer leans heavily into the iconography of Ridley Scott’s original 1979 film with Cailee Spaeny’s Rain Carradine running around a spaceship, immediately evoking memories of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her struggle to survive aboard the Nostromo. It’s hard to know how Romulus will compare without seeing the film, but it’s a comparison the studio wants to emphasize: If you like it, here’s more of the same.
Likewise, the trailer for Twisters bears a noticeable resemblance to Jan de Bont’s 1996 disaster film that followed a group of amateur storm chasers who attempted to research a tornado. The 2024 follow-up has a similar premise and setting, but with a new, younger cast.
From the looks of the film’s trailer, it seems like viewers should expect an updated take on what came before, rather than a radical new concept.
Watch: Twisters movie trailer
However, Deadpool & Wolverine will bring people to the movies in droves. The superhero film is the first to feature Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) in the MCU, and with Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine – and the box office success of the previous two films – fans will flock to see it, but let’s not. We forget that this is a character who has appeared on our screens since the 2000 X-Men series. Nostalgia plays a big role here.
In a similar sense, Furiosa serves as a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, but its focus will likely shift to a younger version of fan-favorite Charlize Theron’s character – with George Miller behind the camera and Anya Taylor-Joy front and center. It will be a blessing, not a curse.
A Quiet Place: The First Part could do well too, but this is a new franchise (six years and two films) compared to Mad Max (45 years) or X-Men (24 years on screen, 61 years in the comics). .
The 2024 box office gives us an idea of what viewers are looking for, and the biggest winner of the year so far is Dune: Part Two, which has grossed more than $512 million worldwide since its release on March 1. Even though it’s a continuation of 2021’s Dune, the film is still an example of a relatively new cinematic IP doing well.
Kung Fu Panda 4 is the second highest-grossing film of 2024, and is coming to the UK next week in time for the Easter weekend. Bob Marley: One Love, an example of an original intellectual property, is the third highest-grossing film of the year so far, while Jason Statham’s action film The Beekeeper comes in fourth.
The Beekeeper makes it clear that viewers will support original content at the cinema. The top five is rounded out by Mean Girls, which while ostensibly a remake, is actually an adaptation of the Broadway musical rather than the 2004 film of the same name.
It’s important to note that the original IP hasn’t always been a hit in theaters this year. The biggest flop of the year so far is Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle. This spy thriller may have had an A-list cast, including Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard, but it was a huge success at the box office, grossing just over $94 million worldwide against a $200 million budget.
Likewise, Sony’s latest Spider-Man film Madame Web lost the box office battle, grossing $97 million worldwide. Although its budget was $80 million, the film’s inability to resonate with viewers and critics alike, and its low box office numbers, led to it being considered a failure as well.
So, what does all this mean for the popular summer season? Well, it’s hard to know what will be a hit and what won’t, but given the sheer amount of reboots, remakes, and sequels, there will be movies that are hits at the box office. On the flip side, there will also likely be a few losers this season.
While it may be true that audience members are keen to see original stories on the silver screen, they will no doubt be looking for some form of entertainment this summer – and the cinema is the perfect place to find it.
Read more: 2023 is the year when Hollywood blockbusters will have something to say
Watch the trailer for The Fall Guy:
