The year 2011 might be remembered as a banner one for sequels: There were a record number of them released last year, more than two dozen. But it might also be just the beginning. Film fans complain that multiplexes filled with franchise flicks signal a lack of creativity in Hollywood. Money talks, though, and louder than anything else. And it’s saying that most moviegoers seem happy enough to see the same movies produced again and again.
Box Office Mojo has compiled a list of the top moneymakers of 2011. Sequels didn’t just dominate it. Every single film in the top 10 was part of a franchise.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” cleaned up; the final film in that franchise made $381 million domestically in 2011. The third “Transformers” film, “Dark of the Moon,” followed with more than $352 million. Third — and still making money in theaters — was “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” with nearly $277 million.
Executives for two of those top three were savvy: They broke the final novels of their series into two — in the process, likely making twice the cash.
Critics who embrace the original were tough on “The Hangover Part II”; it’s at just 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the online critical aggregator. There didn’t seem to be any bad word of mouth surrounding the film, though: It came in fourth, with more than $254 million.
The rest of the top 10, in order: “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Fast Five,” “Cars 2,” “Thor,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”
With such millions to be made, we might expect even more sequels to be greenlit in the next few years. “The Hangover” sequel cost just (!) $80 million to produce to earn that quarter-billion in the United States. A Hollywood producer would have to be a suicidal saint to forsake the opportunity to turn that kind of profit.
Smaller movies can be profitable, too, of course. But rarely on such a level. Still, we should be thankful that the word “prestige” still carries some weight in Tinseltown. You’re not going to see any of the 10 top-grossing movies nominated for Best Picture when Oscar nods are announced last this month, after all.
Though few of the films being released this month are contenders — “The Iron Lady” is an exception — audiences will now be reminded of the big event when catching fare such as “The Devil Inside.” A promo for the Oscars came to theaters this weekend.
It’s being shown along with the usual trailers — and looks just like one, at first. Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox are crisscrossing the globe looking for a wanted man. “Are you the one they call ‘The Host’?” Duhamel asks a shaggy-haired man when they reach Mongolia. “No one’s called me that in years,” Billy Crystal responds.
It’s nice to see Crystal’s self-deprecating humor back on the big screen. (His last few movies weren’t that funny.) But there’s something very un-Hollywood about this teaser: Megan Fox shows none of the assets that made her a star. View the “trailer” online and judge for yourself.
Kelly Jane Torrance is The Washington Examiner movie critic. Her reviews appear weekly and she can be reached at [email protected].
