Today we will review how Scream (2022) managed to succeed at the box office. As well as what we know about the upcoming sequel and what this means for the franchise moving forward.

Screaming Success

On a budget of around $24 million Scream (2022) managed to rake in over $138 million. This makes it a much more successful franchise revival than Scream 4 and shows that the franchise can still draw an audience.

How did the film achieve this? Firstly, the film was released on January 14^th and it didn’t have much competition from new releases. Many of the high-grossers on the week of release were films like Spiderman: No Way Home, The King’s Man and Sing 2. Which had been in the box office charts for weeks. Scream (2022) gave cinemagoers something fresh to watch.

Secondly, it had a strong marketing campaign that hit the ground running. The first trailer was released in October 2021 and a steady stream of social media and physical campaigns helped keep interest up. There was not 6 months of long build-up, Scream (2022)’s marketing was very tight and well-paced.

And it had the benefit of being a franchise film. Meaning it already had an existing audience. But with it also marketing itself as a requel focusing on new characters it drew in new viewers as well. All of this came together to make Scream (2022) a solid box office performer.

Scream 6: What We Know?

Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment officially announced the development of the next Scream sequel less than a month after Scream (2022)’s release. All we currently know is that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett as well as writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick will be returning to helm the project. It is set to start shooting this summer.

Good or Bad?

Now on the one hand it is nice to see the Scream franchise return triumphantly to the big screen. The series holds a special place in many horror fans’ hearts. So to see it return at the height of nostalgic requels is incredibly appropriate. Even though series creators Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson (beyond an executive producer role) were not involved fans and critics seem to appreciate this film’s handling of the series’ legacy.

The danger of another sequel this soon is that it risks transforming Scream into just another slasher series. Previous films always skewered a breadth of horror and general movie tropes. Slasher tropes, sequel tropes, tropes of trilogy conclusions, tropes for reboots, and now tropes for requels. But with requel sequels being less of a phenomenon the series has comparatively little to parody. Thus it could be less effective. Alternatively, it can just focus on its own mythology however that means it would lose part of its unique identity.

A new Scream sequel should be handled carefully. Especially if, as James Vanderbilt admitted, a sequel was not planned.

Conclusion

Scream (2022) proved me wrong. It became a huge success thanks to its tight marketing, a good choice of release date with a lack of new competition, and it pulled in a huge audience of horror fans and general audiences, old and new. Scream 6 was inevitable. Still, cranking out another sequel so soon risks the series losing something special. Personally, I want the series to wait for the right moment to return. Rather than rushing ahead simply to chase box office returns.

Also Read: Netflix Horror Movie Written Entirely Using Artificial Intelligence

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It’s understandable. Many of 2019s highest-grossing movies were remakes or sequels to popular films. And properties like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 2019s remake of Little Women proved to be critically well-received. Showing that remakes, sequels, and reboots can excel when they want to. But there comes a time when you must put your foot down and say no to certain things. So today I’m going to list five more movies that shouldn’t be touched. Some of these continuations are already on the way, but hopefully, I can convince you why continuing with these properties is an awful idea.

1) Children’s Film: Disney’s Robin Hood

Disney has recently become notable for remaking many of its classic titles. Providing slight updates to their older animated film’s stories and showing off advancing special effects by reimagining them in a live-action style. But while the effects are impressive, and the updates understandable, the changes mostly serve to hamper the simple fairy-tale charm of the stories, and provide us with ugly visuals that pale in comparison to their animated counterparts. So the prospect of seeing Disney’s Robin Hood (a personal favorite of many) remade in this style doesn’t bode well. And in the past decade, we’ve already had two high profile Robin Hood movies that failed to justify their budgets at the box office. It seems audiences aren’t really interested in this material. Do yourselves a favor and stick to Disney’s original. Oo-de-lally what a good day you’ll have.

2) Horror Film: A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place works best as a self-contained experience. By the end of A Quiet Place, every plot thread was tied. We learned the monster’s weakness and our heroes were ready to take on the threat. That was the perfect ending for the story. Continuing the story seems pointless. The characters know the alien’s weakness and most horror sequels also make the mistake of overexposing their monster. Which diminishes how scary they are to audiences. And a sequel also ruins the unique charm of the first film’s gimmick of having the characters remain mostly silent. Either they stick with the gimmick and repeat it until it becomes boring. Or they abandon it and make the film like every other horror movie. This is one property that should have remained quiet.

3) Comedy Film: The Naked Gun

Reboots like Vacation and Ghostbusters have shown that reboots of comedy franchises beloved for their original casts don’t go over well with fans. Naked Gun is a franchise that shouldn’t be touched for this reason. Leslie Nielsen (the spoof movie king) was the star of the original franchise since Police Squad, the TV show that spawned the Naked Gun films. His unique deadpan delivery and timing elevated the Naked Gun into being one of the best parody series ever. So, rebooting the series without Nielsen in the lead not only goes against the series’ main selling point but also seems quite disrespectful. Don’t ever let me catch you guys trying to reboot this one.

4) Western Film: The Wild Bunch

This just shouldn’t happen. Firstly, The Wild Bunch is regarded as one of the best westerns ever. Which already makes it impossible to think about how anyone could equal it. Secondly, the original is so synonymous with legendary director Sam Peckinpah and his filmmaking style that remaking it becomes akin to staining someone’s legacy. Finally, a large reason why The Wild Bunch worked was because of when it was made. Released in 1969 the film pushed the boundaries of cinematic violence and how it could be used to tell stories. Today a Wild Bunch remake would simply amount to another violent western; dilute the legacy of the original. So of course, Hollywood has already decided to try and do it. This project should have been shot down immediately.

5) Martial Arts: The Raid

The Raid is one of the best action movies of the 2010s. Featuring incredible choreography, excellent cinematography, great writing and brilliant physical performances from the likes of Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian. The idea of remaking it for western audiences seems like an exercise in taking something unique and making it blander for mainstream appeal. And a direct remake is already pointless since the movie Dredd already took elements from the original Raid and made it into a thrilling sci-fi action film. Lightning hardly seems likely to strike twice. So, Hollywood please leave the Raid alone.

Thus ends our list. Are there any movies or franchises you would hate to see remade, rebooted or sequeled to death? Tell us about them in the comments.

Also Read: 5 Films That Don’t Need A Sequel, Reboot or Remake

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The Shining and Doctor Sleep

Original: The Shining, released 1980, Director: Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd.

Sequel: Doctor Sleep, released 2019, Director: Mike Flanagan, starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson and Kyliegh Curran.

Years between films: 39

To me, The Shining is one of the greatest films ever made and is made by one of the greatest directors ever, based on a book by the most successful horror writer in the history of the world. It’s hard to imagine the trepidation of director Mike Flanagan when he got the job. The sequel to the book of The Shining was only released a few years ago so providing filmmakers wanted to wait for an “official” sequel they had to wait for Stephen King.

Blade Runner & Blade Runner 2049

Original: Blade Runner, released 1982, Director – Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young.

Sequel: Blade Runner: 2049, released 2017, directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.

Years between films: 35

Blade Runner must surely rank as one of the most influential Sci-Fi films in existence. People still quote Rutger Hauer’s final speech as an ode to life and death. It’s depiction of cities, replicants, and even something like advertising is iconic.

Mad Max Trilogy & Mad Max: Fury Road

Original: Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, released between 1979 and 1985, Director George Miller, starring Mel Gibson

Sequel: Mad Max: Fury Road, released 2015, Director George Miller, starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Hugh Keays-Byrne

Years between films: 30

The cult classic trilogy of what started out as an Ozploitation film has a warm place in the hearts of many, the latest chapter is probably my favourite film of the decade.

All three of the original films left room for the continuation of the story. Danny may have escaped but what about the rest of his life with these powers? Blade Runner ended with Deckard fleeing with Rachael with huge questions remaining about his own identity. And Max Max never seems to have a definitive ending, just more of Max wondering the world.

While I think all three are good films it’s fair to say one was a runaway success both critically and commercially – Mad Max: Fury Road. I think there are a number of reasons for this:

• George Miller – the director of the original trilogy made the new sequel. It seems throughout the intervening years a fourth film has never been far from Miller’s thoughts. Keeping the same director not only means continuity of ideas, themes and aesthetics but it will satisfy a certain section of fandom who are easily ostracised.

• Mad Max has a mixed reputation – While the Mad Max trilogy are cult favourites and certainly have their charms, they were never up there with The Shining and Blade Runner in cinematic reputation. The odds of making a film that would live up to The Shining or Blade Runner were slim, almost inevitably you were going to disappoint people. I don’t think the same is true for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

• You don’t always wants answers – it is true there was potential for more stories within the world of The Shining and Blade Runner maybe you don’t want them. Would learning more about Danny and his powers make for a good film? Would learning the absolute truth about Deckard’s identity be a good thing? Already this question causes controversy with different cuts of the original film suggesting different answers. Sometimes part of what makes a film so special is that you’re left wondering, perhaps for decades, about what it was all about? Each Mad Max film has been different but never really explained what happened to the world and Fury Road didn’t try to answer that question, just added another chapter to the story.

That’s not to say Doctor Sleep and Blade Runner 2049 did everything wrong. Blade Runner 2049 assembled a great cast including Harrison Ford and got one of the best directors working – Denis Villeneuve – to make the film. Doctor Sleep was always aware of the legacy of The Shining and played this perfectly, it contains lots of references but ultimately is its own film.

More Films Coming Back…

These three aren’t the only films that had a lot to overcome. The Rise of Skywalker is getting released in a couple of weeks and this has the monumental weight of the Star Wars franchise on it, but next year we have a variety of sequels and reboots of classic films -a new Ghostbusters with the original cast, a live-action Mulan and Bill & Ted Face The Music. And they’re making a new Top Gun as well which I’m told some people are excited about.

I often complain about the lack of new ideas in Hollywood, and we live in an era when any “franchise” is resurrected to make some more money but I wouldn’t complain quite so much if they met the high standards of these three films.

Also Read: Five New Categories That Should Be Included In The Oscars

The post How To Revive A Franchise After Many Years appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Back To The Future

Back to the Future already has two sequels, and the world is forever grateful that the cast and crew remained largely the same throughout the trilogy. Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox’s chemistry in the series is one of the many, many highlights, and would be an almost impossible task for a new pair of actors to replicate. Doing something different wouldn’t feel like “Back to the Future”. If the reboot also travelled 30 years into the past, we’d have Marty Mcfly meeting his parent’s in the ’90s, which has the potential to be funny but wouldn’t really highlight the generational differences between him and his parents as well as the original.

In terms of a sequel, Fox suffers from Parkinson’s disease, so isn’t as active as he used to be, Lloyd is still working regularly and has reprised his role as Emmet Brown, for several tie in and parodies, including the video game. Director, Robert Zemeckis has no plans for a fourth instalment and says part 4 won’t be made until he’s dead.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Most of John Hughe’s filmography could fill this list, but the hardest one to imagine a version of in present day is this one. Ferris’ plan to help his best friend Cameron would be much more difficult in the age of mobile phones and the internet, all it would take is one tweet and he would be caught out. While it could be argued that Ferris dodging internet fame would still be interesting, the overall tone and themes of the film, enjoying life, as well as the idea of “having a day off” would be lost if he was constantly dodging cameras.

Interestingly, a sequel has been written, sort of. It reportedly follows a middle-aged Ferris, who is now a life coach, and, yep you guessed it, has another day off. While exploring a 40 something Ferris’ life could be interesting and offer some funny insights into dealing with a mid-life crisis, it’s unlikely it would have the same heart without Hughes, who died in 2009, and would probably just ride the nostalgia of the original.

The Goonies

The Goonies is likewise another example of a film that would never work with today’s technology, mobile phones would ruin dozens of films, as well as the internet. The Goonies putting a doubloon and map on eBay doesn’t make a thrilling adventure film. Even if the film was set in the 80’s everyone would need to be recast, and recreating those iconic kids would be daunting for any young actor, not to mention that it would probably be a franchise with modern action editing. Not to mention the franchise it would spawn

Speaking of franchising, there was talk of a sequel in 2014, but there has been little concrete news about it since. Most of the actors have moved on, either playing much bigger roles (the gang would include Samwise Gamgee and Thanos if they were to reunite) or moved away from acting all together. It could still happen though, after all “Goonies never say die”

Inception

Christopher Nolan’s 2010 thriller has a cliffhanger ending ripe with for sequel set up- Cobb turns away from his spinning top to be with his children, unsure if he is in a dream. Nolan has never returned to this world, despite the critical and commercial acclaim, but has explained the ending.

Aside from The Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan doesn’t do sequels, and Inception is clearly his baby. Despite the world-building, there isn’t really any need for a follow-up, with most questions being answered and character arcs completed.

A reboot could happen, but without Nolan, it likely wouldn’t have the same creativity or brains to it, and would likely be a franchise starter, with each sequel being a different dream heist. It sounds cool, but a lot of what makes “Inception” special is that it’s unique.

Leon: The Professional

Luc Besson has been responsible for several films that could easily have started a franchise, and tried to. But one that definitely shouldn’t get a sequel is Leon, the story about the unlikely friendship formed between a hitman and an orphaned child. The sequel set up is obvious, with Mathilda wanting to follow in Leon’s footsteps from the beginning, despite his objections.

But his objections are exactly why it doesn’t need a sequel. Although there is little doubt about Natalie Portman’s acting ability, two out of three of the original main characters perished in the final act. Without that central relationship, the film would be a generic action film, which is what a sequel would risk becoming. The alternative is just a rehash of the original, which also doesn’t sound appealing.

Also Read: The Many Faces of Andy Serkis

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