Think of the last movie you saw before reading this article. Now think about whether that movie was an original or a remake of some kind. Most likely your answer is going to be the latter. This may seem like an obvious answer due to the fact that people believe Hollywood is in a golden age of reboots/remakes/ and sequels. It is only natural to believe this as some of 2015’s most hyped movies were a remake of some kind. Avengers Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are just three that come to mind. Due to their massive success, people are complaining that Hollywood has become unoriginal and lazy. So, the big question that comes to mind is why; is it just because Hollywood is unoriginal and does not know what else to make, or is there something else that many people do not even realize yet is influencing their everyday lives.

Before getting into why, it should first be established how many reboots Hollywood is making. The answer is surprisingly low. According to an infographic by the website “The Droid You Are Looking For” (TDYLF) only 122 reboots were made between 2003 and 2012. Since 1980, the ten years with the most reboots fall between 2002 and 2012. So, it cannot be debated that a lot of the reboots were made during that time. Despite that period having the most reboots, they started to decline in 2005 when reboots/remakes were only 15% of the 100 highest grossing US movies. Since 2005, the number went steadily downhill except for when it went up slightly twice according to Stephen Follows Film Data and Education website. In addition, in 2011 the amount started to drastically decline. In 2014, of the top 100 highest grossing US movies less than 5% were reboots or remakes. But, the heart of the matter is not the amount of reboots but the amount of sequels, prequels, or spin-offs. After 2006, the percentage of the top 100 grossing films has been greater than the amount of reboots or remakes peeking at above 25% in 2011. While it only reached that high once, it shows that if anything people should complain about it is the number of sequels, not reboots.

Another interesting point is that people say Hollywood should try and return to the good old days when almost all of their movies were original. But, the truth is that it is impossible because there never was a time like that. It has always been commonplace in Hollywood to adapt popular books, plays, and earlier movies into new movies. Two of the most popular and enduring movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind (both released in 1939, the golden age of cinema), were both adapted from books. Practically all of Shakespeare’s plays have been put to film multiple times as well as many other famous plays. The same goes with movie franchises; they simply are not a new invention by Hollywood. Going all the way back to the silent era of films, you will find many sequels that were released, some multiple times in one year. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Universal released their monster movie franchise with some of them, like Dracula, which were not even original. One of the best examples of a long running successful franchise is the Bond movies. They started in 1962 with Dr. No, and continue to have huge financial success to this day.

Now, to explain why Hollywood makes reboots and so many sequels, there is a lot more to it than money. It is a financially smart move because most of the time the movie has a low production cost with a high return. To put this into scale, the 122 reboots that were made between 2003 and 2012 grossed over $12 billion. This is partly due to a built in fan base from the original movie who will go see the new version, no matter how much they trash it online. They are also relatively easy to make partly because the filmmakers know that people will go see it resulting in low production effort. Also, the studio already owns the right to the movie so by reusing their properties they are saving money. If people really were tired of all the sequels, they would not be profitable because people would stop seeing them.

While it makes sense from an economic perspective, this only answers half of why they make reboots. One fun theory proposed by Simon Peg (the actor best known for Scotty in the new Star Trek movies and Benji Dunn in the Mission Impossible franchise) was that the children of the eighties were the first generation that did not have to grow up right after school. This led to an extended adolescence where they experienced an abundance of culture in the form of movies, television shows, comic books etc. This generation then matured into adults crying for reboots of what they grew up loving, so they could share it with their own kids. The older culture of the parents combined with the newer culture of their children resulted in a mainstream phenomenon sharing elements of both. While this theory has some truth to it, it is most likely an overstatement on how much adults want to see these reboots. It is a safe bet they certainly want and approve of them as shown by their financial success, but saying they crave them is an overstatement.

A more realistic theory was set forth in the 1940s by two men, Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), who proposed that America was turning into what they called the Culture Industry. It stated that before capitalism, works of art were truly magnificent as people cared about their end product. However, due to capitalism’s infectious and greedy nature, works of art simply became commodities used to make money. This does not mean that the new product is inherently inferior, but that it was created to make money as opposed to being a beautiful piece of art. This translates perfectly into the culture of the eighties. Everything, including movies, was mass produced and part of that culture. This included more than just entertainment, but extended into everyday life such as easy access to mass produced food and clothing. This separated the generation of the eighties from all other generations, as they were the first to experience this concept and carried it with them into adulthood. Adorno and Horkheimer discussed this too, as they stated capitalism was able to flourish because of the technology that allows duplication. This translates perfectly into movies because as the generation of the eighties became the next generation of filmmakers they did what was natural to them; they remade what they experienced in their childhood. These movies are being made not because audiences crave or want to see them, but because they can be remade due to the capitalist tendency of mass production. Adorno and Horkheimer stated they view society as lazy by making things the same way multiple times, and most people in today’s society would agree with this. Yet, as Simon Peg suggested, there is a comfort in this mass production as it is the norm in our society. People grew up in a world where everything was duplicated so people now expect it (or crave it as Peg would say) in their entertainment.
Furthermore, reboots and sequels are also being made due to their potential to outshine their predecessor. If done right, these movies can shine a new light on a franchise, or bring an old movie into the modern world. Some of the best movies of all time are reboots or sequels, such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day which most consider better than the original as well as the definitive science fiction action movie. A more recently example is the latest Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens. The Force Awakens had great new characters, a gripping plot, and wonderful visual effects (both CGI and practical). It was able to capture the magic of the original with classic Star Wars elements as well as original cast members like Han Solo (I mean Han Solo, not Harrison Ford). In addition, the franchise was brought into the modern era with a darker tone, as well as a strong female, and African American lead. While it has flaws, it does show how a reboot or sequel should and could be made without disrespecting the original franchise.
To sum it all up, there is nothing inherently wrong with reboots or even sequels for that matter. The concept is not a new trend in Hollywood, as they have been around since the beginning of filmmaking. They are an inexpensive way for studios to put out movies cheaply for a high return. This is done due to the Culture Industry that we live in where every piece of art is turned into a commodity and mass multiplied. In turn, it does not inherently lower the value of the product but since the directors are looking for a financial gain, it lowers the probability they are going to produce a worthy film. Even if they wanted to make a superb film, the odds are against them. With a reboot/sequel, there is a good chance nothing new will be added to the franchise, or whatever new is added results in a horrible movie. What is most likely going to happen is that the original was a product of the time period, and remaking it simply would not work in a modern context.