Why was it a hit? Director Steven Spielberg's name was a huge draw after mega-hits like
Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and
Raiders of the Lost Ark. Science fiction was at one of its strongest points at the box office with movies like
Close Encounters and
Star Wars triggering a boom for the genre. The story also had broader appeal with its themes about children dealing with divorce, the importance of friendship, and the pains of growing up, so it had enough charm and story to connect with non-science fiction fans. It was a great family movie but also a masterfully crafted nostalgic road to childhood for adults too, so it nailed every demographic. It should also be added that straight-up family movies were not as common from studios not called Disney in the 1980s, so something everyone could see would be a massive draw. As well, video rentals were still in their infancy and
E.T. ended up playing in most theatres for over a year in its first run and then re-released a few times over the 1980s until finally going on video in 1988. It was highly likely that most people saw this more than once in theatres.
Box Office Success: Second highest grossing movie of 1980 being beat out by a little movie called
Empire Strikes Back.
Why was it a hit? 9 to 5 was one of the first female-starring workplace comedies during a time that society was riding a new wave of feminism and women were entering the workforce at a record rate. It was a comedy about three women getting revenge on their sexist and luring boss, which sadly, was probably something many women could relate to at the time and played as a visceral fantasy. Okay fine, maybe something women can still relate to, unfortunately. On top of that, you had huge stars at the time in Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, and it was a really funny movie that garnered super positive word of mouth. It was one of those types of movies that everyone was talking about and was a big part of the 1980s' zeitgeist. It even spawned a 1980s TV sitcom that had the Dolly Parton song, but not the stars.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? 20th Century Fox really wanted one, and Tom Mankiewicz even worked on a script. Even though Dolly Parton was excited about returning to the role, apparently Jane Fonda wasn't very interested in a sequel, and even the original director, Colin Higgins wasn't keen on doing a follow-up. When one of the biggest stars of the first doesn't want to return, it is usually best to scrap plans (though many sequels haven't followed that rule like
Short Circuit 2 and
The Sting II). Though talks of a reboot/sequel have persisted even as recent as a few years ago nothing has become official.
Ghost (1990)
Box Office Success: Second highest-grossing movie of 1990.
Why was it a hit? Ghost was the ultimate date movie and as would be proven later in the decade with
Titanic, big-budget romance spectacles could draw (
Titanic is of course one of the biggest movies of all-time that never had a sequel but I think even executives realized that one was almost impossible to repeat, so I left it off this list).
Ghost was a romance story that would make many swoon with the message that even death cannot overcome love but also was a well-made thriller and had some great special effects (for the time) that drew in those less sold on the romance. It was something for every movie. It also got a lot of buzz for its five Oscar nominations that included Best Picture, as well as winning two in Best Supporting (Whoopi Goldberg) and Best Original Screenplay (Bruce Joel Rubin).
Why hasn't there been a sequel? After a huge hit, the stars got really busy. Demi Moore became one of the most sought-after female leads with her gorgeous looks and distinct husky voice in movies like
Mortal Thoughts, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, GI Jane, and
Disclosure. Whoopi Goldberg became a hot new comedy act with big hits including
Sister Act. Patrick Swayze remained a sturdy leading or strong supporting role in movies including
Point Break. Even if the stars' slates weren't stuffed, it really wasn't a story that opened itself up to a natural sequel and I think it was accepted as a lightening-in-the-bottle type hit that would be hard to recapture.
On Golden Pond (1981)
Box Office Success: Second highest grossing movie of 1981 only defeated by box office phenomenon
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Why was it a hit? The movie studios made way more movies geared toward adults forty years ago, and it was much more common that adult dramas would do very well at the box office. This was long before "Prestige TV" and streaming, so going to the theatres was the best place to find well-scripted and intelligent stories geared towards adults. Even back then, it was a bit of a surprise that
On Golden Pond ended up being such a massive hit. Some of the major factors were that it was based on a popular stage play, it had the first ever onscreen pairing of Hollywood legends Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, it has the first on-screen pairing of real-life father and daughter Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda, it was critically acclaimed, and the gentle nature made it something very different than most other offerings at the time.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? A huge part of the appeal was the stars that were in it, and this turned out to be Henry Fonda's final theatrical movie. He would pass away in 1982, so a key part of the movie's success was gone. It also wasn't a movie that really opened itself up well for a sequel, so instead studios followed the formula by adapting many stage plays with big stars attached but it never was this successful again. Surprisingly, a few years ago there were talks of making an updated version for the big screen.
Inception (2010)
Box Office Success: Sixth highest-grossing movie of 2010 and the highest-grossing 2010 movie not based on an existing story.
Why was it a hit? After the success of
Dark Knight and creating the buzzworthy cult hits like
Memento and
The Prestige, Christopher Nolan's name started to become a huge selling point for anything he was attached to. Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio was a major box office draw, especially since he had proven to be choosy about the roles he took and it made each appearance feel like an event. It got huge critical praise and the twisty concept made it a widely discussed movie. It quickly became something ingrained in pop culture and as social media grew, its twists and turns were one of the most debated items. It created an event feel that you needed to see to be a part of the excitement.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? Christopher Nolan has been open to a sequel, but he also has had so many other projects that he wanted to tackle. The challenge has been to make a movie that feels like a worthy follow-up and to somehow come off as bigger and more mind-bending. There also has been concern from Warner Brothers because the first movie was very expensive, and a sequel would likely cost more while sequels often make less. I'd also say at this point that the buzz has died down and there aren't any big signs of anticipation for a follow-up anymore. Though for a short bit, there was speculation that
Tenet was the elusive sequel, which turned out just to be wild social media speculation (what?!? social media overblowing something?).
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Box Office Success: Second highest-grossing movie of 1999 that was only beaten out by
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Why was it a hit? It was a creepy and chilling horror movie that due to it not being overly violent and focusing on a sweet relationship between a psychiatrist and a young boy that it was very accessible to a broad audience. Bruce Willis also was still a huge draw (and working). Of course, there was the iconic twist ending that was so big that people felt like they had to see the movie so they could be part of the conversation.
The Sixth Sense was a massive part of pop culture at the time when it was both mocked and analyzed on television, plus it gained a lot of momentum by also being a horror that not only got huge critical acclaim but snagged 6 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Director M. Night Shyamalan immediately became the 'it' filmmaker. This is also one of those movies that non-horror fans try to argue actually isn't horror, which is of course, silly.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? The Sixth Sense was very much a director-driven movie, and it wouldn't have had the same buzz if someone else took over. Shyamalan was more interested in making other twisty movies like
Unbreakable (did get sequels) and
Signs. It was also likely a case of Disney not sure if there would be the same anticipation now that the twist has been revealed, and there would need to be an appealing story to justify a return.
Hancock (2008)
Box Office Success: Fourth highest-grossing movie of 2008.
What was it a hit? In 2008, Will Smith was one of the biggest box office draws. The previous success of
The Incredibles,
Iron Man, and the
Spider-Man series showed audiences had an appetite for superhero movies. Since the powerhouse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had just launched its first movie (
Iron Man two months prior), audiences (more likely studios) were still open to various superhero movies rather than just from one particular world or only adapted straight from comic books.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? Even though it was a huge hit, audience reactions were very mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score sits at 59%. A lot of moviegoers were put off by a crass and vulgar Will Smith who usually played charming and charismatic characters (this was during a time Smith was considered an upstanding and non-slappy human being). While both director Peter Berg and star Will Smith have expressed interest in doing a sequel, Sony was likely nervous that the less-than-strong audience and critical reaction would harm a return engagement. Also, it was released the year the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched and within two years became the undisputed box office powerhouse and every studio was now more interested in adapting stuff from actual comic books. Today this movie would likely need to come in with a small budget and would risk being lost in the ocean of big superhero epics
Cobra (1985)
Box Office Success: Fifteenth highest-grossing movie of 1986.
Why was it a hit? Sylvester Stallone was one of the most iconic action stars of the 1980s. He also was playing a vigilante cop, which was a very popular action subgenre in the 1970s and 1980s. While I wouldn't say Stallone was stretching himself, it was a little different than some of his other iconic roles. It also was a time when violent one-man taking down the team of baddies action movies were the piping hot thing.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? While
Cobra was a definite hit, it also had to be considered a disappointment when compared to Stallone's other super-successful franchises
Rambo and
Rocky. It made nowhere near those numbers, so for Stallone, it probably made more sense to return to his hits rather than try to keep a less successful and more controversial character alive. It also did not help that it was reviled by critics, and it has not aged well with audiences. It also was way less fun than his
Rambo and
Rocky movies.
Elf (2003)
Box Office Success: Seventh highest-grossing movie of 2003.
Why was it a hit? Will Ferrell was at peak drawing power, and it was sold not only on his brand of man-child humour but had the added bonus of being a family holiday movie. This was a movie that entertained families looking for optimistic and fun cheery entertainment but also delivered the type of humor that drew out Ferrell fans too. It also was the most critically acclaimed Ferrell starring movie and the type of film that got endlessly quoted by fans.
Why hasn't there been a sequel? Will Ferrell does not want one. He has said on numerous occasions it was one of his favourite movies he has done, and he believes a sequel will just cheapen the original. Warner Brothers and director Jon Favreau have expressed a strong desire to make a sequel, but it is hard to do that without the star returning. I am sure Favreau and Warner Brothers are well aware of
Son of the Mask and
Evan Almighty.
What other great movies are you surprised never got a sequel?
Comments
Post a Comment