Stop Spamming Sequels: exploring the new entertainment trend

The film industry has found a new trend to spam audiences to stay in the game — sequels. Is this a new trend a money grab or is there more to it?  

Since the pandemic the film industry has been bouncing from one trend to another, making studios scramble after these trends to stay afloat with the now overflowing industry that keeps welcoming new competition each day. From major studios like Paramount Pictures making video game movies to smaller studios like Jagged Edge Productions making Disney horror movies to break into Hollywood. The latest trend in all of film entertainment is making sequels.  

If you thought this summer’s main entertainment was spammed with sequels like “A Quiet Place: Day One” to “House of Dragon” then get ready because according to Movie Insider and IMDb 2025 is going to be packed with sequels too. 2026 is also looking the same thanks to major announcements happening during the summer by major studios like Disney during D23 announcing even more sequels! Some sequels like “Avatar: Fire and Ash” are even getting another installment to follow it— a sequel within sequel! And this is just for movies! 

However, although these sequels are the continuation of beloved stories like “Toy Story 5,” the public has had mixed reactions to this sequel trend. The main reaction people have had can be described as them being either excited or being disappointed by the lack of new mainstream stories being introduced. Both in shows and movies. One of these people is Aydan Long, art student from DigiPen.    

“This is clearly a grab for money! Like why did we need a Despicable Me 4? To show Gru had a child? The last one ended the story well and in a satisfying way,” Long said. He expressed that it feels like the film industry is trying to drain beloved series till their dry to get money even though they have wrapped up the stories multiple times that left fans satisfied. Almost as if they’re scared to try something new.  

That every feeling Long described is felt by many others when it comes to other beloved series like “Toy Story” and “John Wick” which their fourth movie’s endings indicated it was the end of their story and all character arcs. Yet, here we are with “Toy Story 5” being in production and “John Wick: Chapter 5” being debated. 

According to an article by James Jianxin Gong and et.al called “Real Options in the Motion Picture Industry: Evidence from Film Marketing and Sequels” states that the major driving force to the creation of a sequel and eventually a film series is how much money a stand-alone movie can make. If a movie makes a massive amount of money it proves it is a major hit. For example, the first “Despicable Me” movie landed $56,397,125 just opening weekend according to Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Showing that the audience loved Gru’s story immediately. Hence, triggering an entire series that has led the fourth installment to receive $75,009,210 opening week.  

Dr. Dillman, a professor of the Film Studies branch of UW Tacoma’s Arts, Media, and Culture department who has been in the film industry since the 90s, agrees with Long. She explained it’s true because Hollywood has a long history of reusing successful stories because just like Gong and et.al say in their article only one out of ten movies will be successful in Hollywood—both in making money and audience turn out.  

“They (Hollywood) will use the same characters again but put them into a different plot because they know fans will watch because we the audience will assume that just because we liked the first movie or original show, we may like the second,.” Dr. Dillman told The Ledger. “We will want to know what happened to certain characters who didn’t have a complete arc and learn more about the world the story is in.” 

An example of such would be the new “Walking Dead” series “The Walking Dead: Those Who Lived” is set after the original story ended. It expands the world of the beloved series by following the character Rick Grimes who didn’t finish his arc in the main storyline while showing us more about the Civic Republic Military that was briefly touched upon on the main storyline and other spin offs. Dr. Dillman agrees that the “Walking Dead: Those Who Lived” is an excellent example of Hollywood’s game.  

However, she believes that there is more to this trend than meets the eye. She believes the film industry is embracing its evolution and showing it by mass production of sequels. Making Hollywood’s love for sequels more evident than ever.  

“Now in days, studios are now intrigued in order to meet the high demand of entertainment. Back then it was much harder for different media like comic books and film to fuse together. Thanks to new technology being available to help studios make movies and more access to an improved older technology like CGI.”  

Dr. Dillman continues by explaining that the movies that benefit from this new tech make a lot of money and keep attracting people are action movies, sci-fi, and horror movies. In the past these movies were hard to make due to how they needed a lot of special effects to make the story feel real. Now these stories are more believable thanks to how advanced and accessible technology has become.  

This technology allows people to escape from their reality by adding a level of believability to the film. She cites the fact after the COVID-19 pandemic, the political atmosphere, and other world issues people are looking for a positive escape. An escape that gives them hope of a better world by seeing characters with superpowers of sorts overcome a greater evil. Seeing characters instigate change in a world where all the odds were against it. Hence, allowing these movies to have sequels. The movie that started this was none other than the “Matrix” according to Dr. Dillman. It opened the door to new possibilities and showed the industry it was possible to make sequels back-to-back for “Matrix” 2 and 3 came out just a few months apart in 2003!  

“We are living in a sequelization world,” said Dr. Dillman. I believe we’ve fallen into our own matrix. We who have noticed this trend are now Neo from the “Matrix.” Can we escape this trend? Dr. Dillman believes we can, for many are still making new movies like UWT Alumni Thomas Hernandez. As a creator myself, I too believe we can, we just need to support new creators. There is hope.  

Do you agree that there is hope for new films? Or is this to be continued?