If you've recently been to the cinema or turned on your streaming platform of choice, no doubt you'll have been offered 'new' stories that are fundamentally familiar. From Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, to Dune: Part Two, and now Bridget Jones 4 - the film industry is being driven by franchises and sequels.
Of the top 10 highest-grossing films released in Britain in 2024, franchises and sequels accounted for nine. The exception, Wicked, was a prequel. Despite innumerable creative possibilities, studios are flogging offshoots of things we've either already watched or already rejected.
The trend is driven by one thing: money. Hollywood likes to present itself as an artistic community, underwritten by great ideas and talent, but really it's a cold-hearted corporate industry. New films - where prospective viewers don't know the characters or the 'world' - can be a financial risk. They require a large marketing budget, and the public's response is sometimes hard to foresee.
Contrast that to a sequel or to a film belonging to a franchise.