We're In Our Franchise Era

In the latest episode of One Moore Hollywood Podcast, hosts Chris Moore, Katie Marpe, and Dennis De Nobile discuss all things franchise, including what a franchise actually is, why franchises are vital to Hollywood's business model, and why they aren't always good news. 

Let's see what our hosts have to say.

What Is a Franchise?

While Moore believes a film series is only a franchise once it has lived through multiple generations, both Marpe and De Nobile have an adjacent but slightly looser understanding, defining it as a film series that has either become a brand name or begun as a brand name. 

According to the most accurate of all websites, Wikipedia, the definition of a franchise is as follows: “A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series.”

'Spider-Man,' 'Star Wars,' and 'Batman' are all examples of popular movie franchises.

Why Hollywood Loves A Franchise

In a world where it's harder and harder to make back the money you sink into making a movie, a franchise is usually a safer bet than an original story. De Nobile notes that sometimes Hollywood greenlights a sequel even before the first movie has come out because of its favorable reception in test screenings. 

Many franchises are based on existing stories with a built-in fanbase and audience. Examples are popular books, comic books, toys, and video games. Having a pre-existing audience is a massive help to the marketing budget–it takes much less money and effort to market something people already love rather than something new. While a story with a built-in audience doesn't always translate into a successful film, more often than not, it does. 

The other part of Hollywood's attachment to franchises has to do with the licensing of characters. To maintain their hold on the rights to certain characters, studios have to release a movie with that character within a specific period of time. If they fail to do this, they lose all rights to use the character in the future and the ability to recoup the money they spent on acquiring that character's license. This is why new iterations of movies like Spider-Man are released every few years.

Ultimately, Hollywood's bottom line will always be money, and if they can make it through the retelling of a story and characters that everyone loves? Even better. 

What's Wrong With A Franchise?

While nothing is wrong with a franchise, and there are many fantastic franchises out there, there is a downside in choosing to invest in a franchise, whether that be the start of a new series or a continuation of a movie that’s already been released. 

Moore points out that studios' choice to invest in another sequel instead of a new story or retelling a story that's already been told means plenty of original stories don't get chosen in favor of something more likely to make money. The millions of dollars that could go into taking a chance on an original story go into something that's already had its fair share of the limelight.

There's a sadness in the role money has in dictating audiences' access to a creative project. But alas, money is the way of our world. Even so, original stories may still have their heyday with the right people in charge of where the money goes. 

We'll just have to wait and see. 

Listen to the entire episode here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio.