At one point or another, we have all visited a movie theater, either alone or with a group of friends, to watch the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer.
These days, producers of movies and screenwriters may have run out of ideas if the influx of movie franchise reboots says anything. These films are usually based on previous versions of a film, such as the newest in the “Saw” franchise, “Jigsaw.”
“Reboots aren’t good for the artistic factor of the business,” said freshman interdisciplinary major Kai Bradford from Kearney, Nebraska. “They use nostalgia and spectacle in specific reboots, such as the new “Power Rangers” movie, to make big bucks.”
However, this pattern seems to have worked well for some reboots. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the 2017 “Power Rangers” reboot garnered a respectable $85.275 million in the United States and Canada, and “Blade Runner 2049,” a sequel to the 1980s cult classic, “Blade Runner,” drew in a larger $91.8 million in the same market.
However, SUU students also see the downside to making reboots.
“There are no genuine movie ideas anymore,” said freshman history major Garrett Gray from Reno, Nevada. “If they’re done well, though, it’s very good to watch.”
It seems that popular directors or cult classic movies tend to do better when they make reboots. However, poorly made sequels or reboots tend to bomb at the box office. The 2010 reboot of the classic Wes Craven slasher series, “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” only brought in $63.1 million domestically and has a 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This seems to be accurate for horror reboots across the board, as the “Saw” reboot, “Jigsaw,” only saw $36.4 million domestically.
These films draw on nostalgia to make big money. No real originality goes into them. On the other hand, Hollywood does make big bucks on the movies in question, so they will likely continue to make them in the future. Hollywood will continue to cash in on nostalgia of its audience, as long as they keep making money, regardless of original content.
Story By
Trenton Flager for SUU NEWS
Photo By
Unsplash
Krists Luhaers for SUU News
