Hollywood has a problem. Starved of original plotlines, creative dialogue and fresh talent, the film industry is relying on the crutch of the dreaded remake. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some successful remakes such as Greta Gerwig’s ‘Little Women’ (2019), but overall the industry has been saturated with lacklustre reboots for some time now.
For the purpose of this piece, I will be defining a remake as a movie that is based on the plot of an existing film; movies that recreate or borrow plotlines from existing IP (intellectual property) such as books or comics are not my target (yet…). Historically, the idea of remaking a successful movie has existed since the beginning of Hollywood itself with the release of ‘The Great Train Robbery’ in 1904. This followed its original release just one year earlier and due to the lack of legal protection for IP at the time, the remake was nearly identical to the original. Cashing in on an already lucrative film is not new to the film industry and in many ways, the audience is as much to blame as the studios. For many years we have eagerly anticipated the revival of a long-forgotten franchise, a chance to correct the mistakes of a previous iteration but it seems that the tide is turning.
The public is growing tired of Hollywood’s lack of inspiration with fans becoming increasingly disillusioned. Remakes are a safety net for the industry as they come with a guaranteed fan base that, irrespective of the reviews, ensures tickets will be sold and money will be made. However, it seems that they are declining in popularity and, even worse, risk dragging the original material down with it. Forevermore, audiences will not be able to watch the masterpiece that is 2004’s ‘Mean Girls’ without being reminded of the tragic 2024 remake, the same goes for Timothee Chalamet’s admirable but awkward attempt at recreating the magic of Gene Wilder’s (or even Johnny Depp’s) Willy Wonka. According to this article, it’s not just reboots that Hollywood is leaning on currently but also sequels, with Beetlejuice 2 and Gladiator 2 coming later this year. While many await these films eagerly, when it comes to reboots I can’t help but feel trepidation. Hasn’t Hollywood ever heard the phrase ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’?
Studio executives seem to have lost faith in their audiences, assuming that we will only be satisfied by the same formulaic, predictable plot we’ve seen a thousand times before. They seem to have forgotten that many moviegoers enjoy cinema for its ability to make us think, provoke discussions and question our society. Perhaps instead of assuming that audiences will only be attracted by a recognisable plot or cast, producers and directors should trust in the quality of their work and allow it to speak for itself.
Money is most certainly at the root of issues like the onslaught of reboots and endless sequels. Executives, producers and directors assign astronomical budgets to projects meaning that only films with the biggest stars, or pre-existing IP, are guaranteed to even breakeven, let alone make a profit. In their desperation to turn the highest profits to satisfy investors, executives have forgotten the most important people in the filmmaking industry, the audience.
Despite the sea of uninspired remakes, we must remember there have also been many triumphs such as ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2022), ‘Past Lives’ (2023) and ‘All of Us Strangers’ (2024), just to name a few. Hollywood is in transition as we enter a new era; who knows what the film industry will look like in 5 years, let alone 10. I, for one, am excited to see.