These days, it feels like every single movie and TV show being produced is a reboot, remake or revival of already existing media. For Hollywood, it’s much easier and safer to just rehash previously successful ideas and formulas rather than risk coming up with something new and original.
Brand recognition and profit maximization have taken the front seat, pushing original ideas and new voices to the wayside, effectively contributing to the “death of cinema.” And it doesn’t look like Hollywood is about to give it up anytime soon.
remake vs reboot
The words “remake” and “reboot” are often used interchangeably, but they actually have different meanings. A reboot happens when directors restart the continuity for a character or a concept without necessarily retelling the same story. A popular example of a reboot is superhero movies, in which the central superhero is kept in each movie, but the plot and villains change.
A remake retells a story, using the same story but using different characters or actors to tell that story. Some of the most famous remakes are Disney’s live-action remakes, which have the same plot and mostly the same characters, but remake the story in a different medium. To simplify it, a reboot is the same character with a different story told, and a remake is the same story with different characters and/or actors playing those characters.
The origins
Reboots and remakes have existed for over a century and are more common than people might think. Since the early days of film history, filmmakers were already revisiting the same ideas. Some of the first remakes happened in 1904 with “The Great Train Robbery,” and in 1918 with “The Squaw Man.” Some movies considered to be classics are actually remakes of older films.
1982’s “The Thing,” 1999’s “The Mummy” and 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven” are all remakes, but ones that managed to reinvent the original material and ultimately surpassed earlier versions, being considered by society as modern classics. Reboots and remakes aren’t a bad thing; they are as much a part of cinema as original movies. Before the 2010s, there were so many that were genuinely excellent. So, why does it feel like these days most remakes are shallow, repetitive and pointless?
reboot fatigue
It all comes down to the intent behind these films, which has clearly shifted in the past decade. In the past, reboots and remakes were usually driven by creative reasons. Whether it was technological progress, cultural shifts or a filmmaker’s personal vision that added genuine new meaning, the films used to have a real artistic motivation behind them. Unfortunately, the priority nowadays is money.
With inflation, COVID-19, writers’ strikes and the general decline in box office ticket sales, filmmaking has never been more expensive and financially risky. Because of this, it is crucial for movies to make their budget back and then some. The modern film industry is built to minimize risk.
The industry doesn’t thrive on artistic originality anymore; it survives on familiarity. In the age of mega budgets and global markets, studios would rather bet on a recognizable title than an unknown idea, because brand recognition equals lower risk. Original stories are harder to sell, and they require marketing from the ground up. A remake comes pre-built with name recognition and a guaranteed audience, even if nobody asked for it.
Although the reboot model is built to save studios from financial ruin, it is only doing more harm than good. Remakes and reboots now seem to be almost everything that we get. And more often than not, they exist not because someone has something new to say, but because they’re a safe financial bet. This pushes original ideas and new voices out of the spotlight.
Studios are only interested in giving their money to what they perceive as guaranteed successes. Even when original films are made, they often end up doing the independent circuit, having lower budgets or being so severely under-marketed that they go by completely unnoticed. This only convinces studios further that new ideas are just a waste of money.
This ongoing cycle has largely contributed to what some people call “the death of cinema.” More and more people are getting bored with and put off by the current state of cinema. When everything becomes a remake, and every movie becomes nostalgia bait, even big franchises start to lose steam.
It’s becoming exhausting to keep being reminded of the good old days. As a result, the industry is becoming a dire state that’s more representative of a production assembly as opposed to meticulously crafting something with love and devotion.
Which is why we need original ideas. Sure, original ideas may be a little riskier, but they can also pay off big time, and there are countless examples to prove it. For example, think about the movie “Sinners,” or “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Both of those movies were original ideas, and they wowed audiences, had everyone talking about them for months and won multiple Oscars. Similarly, the “Knives Out” series has proven to be a huge success and last year also saw the explosion of “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” The past year alone has proved just how profitable original movies can be.
Reboots and remakes have been a part of cinema for almost as long as cinema itself. Recently, they have gotten completely out of hand, being created for a cash grab, but not saying or contributing anything new to the story.
These low-stakes movies are slowly contributing to the death of modern cinema, where nostalgia and profit come before originality. Filmmaking may be a business, but it should always be a form of artistic expression first. The further away we move from that, the more that cinema loses its soul.