I remember how often I would watch movies as a kid. With a Blu-Ray player sitting in my family room at a height I could reach next to my family’s cabinet of movies, I usually watched at least one movie a day. Looking back, I remember how I could usually never find a sequel I watched often, probably because most of the movies I could watch were originals. Now, I feel like that’s hard to find.
Original films are what I’m going to call movies that aren’t a sequel and aren’t what I’m going to refer to as a “franchise film,” which are films that take place in a certain franchise or continue the story within one, such as Marvel and DC Comics movies. Original movies are ones that were made with just that movie in mind.
In the past year, I have tried my best to watch movies I haven’t seen before, considering how many films I should have watched by now as a film major. Although I have seen a lot of original movies, it’s been getting harder and harder to find any originals from bigger movie production companies, such as Dreamworks, Universal, and Disney.
During its annual fan expo, D23, Disney announced lots of movies. Other than two original movies from Pixar, there were mostly sequels and franchise films planned to release in the upcoming years, such as “Toy Story 5,” “Avengers: Doomsday” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu” (a movie they are basing on the popular Star Wars TV show).
Honestly, I think the only newer original movies I have watched this semester are “Sinners,” “A Minecraft Movie,” and “Hot Rod,” although I’m sure there are a few more I’m forgetting about.
In 2024, 32 sequel films were released in theaters, according to Movie Insider. Some of these sequel movies were “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” ‘Dune: Part 2,” “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “Venom: The Last Dance.” While that might not seem like much, 32 movies in a year means one of these films was released every 11-12 days or so. Plus, most of the sequels and franchise films stem from big movie production companies or already very popular original movies.
Even in 2025, we had similar numbers with 34 sequel releases, according to Collider. To name a few, there’s “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” “Freakier Friday” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”
In 2026, we are looking at similar numbers, with what I counted to be 27 sequel films already planned to release, according to Movie Insider, like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “The Angry Birds Movie 3, and “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” a film made back in 2006.
So why are all these major companies staying more within the realm of sequels and spin-offs? I think it’s because it’s easier. Why risk an entire new plot and set of characters when you can remain in the already beloved world of one?
For example, if we look back at 2006, only ten sequel films were released in theaters, according to another article from Movie Insider. Some of the most notable are “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown,” a movie franchise that saw many sequels and spinoffs in the future, “Mission Impossible lll,” which just saw its eighth movie release in theaters this year and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” the second movie in the series that would later reach five.
In a way, it makes original movies almost other-ized or excluded. It’s hard for me to go to a movie theater and find an original movie I really like, almost because it doesn’t feel like it’s real being within a whole new world with characters I don’t know.
So, have movies lost their charm? Absolutely not. I think we have just gotten a little foggy on the idea of what making movies is about. It’s about telling stories you have never heard before, to show the public something new, whether it be to spread laughter, awareness, or awe to your audiences.
By stretching out characters we know and love, it’s like keeping your childhood dog alive for far too long. Obviously, you have an attachment to this dog, but at one point, you have to say goodbye. That’s what I feel like we have to do with some of these movies. “Toy Story” should have been done after the third movie, like a lot of other franchises I know. It is a lucky number, after all.
Some movies need more made to continue stories that need more screen time, and that I can accept. The “John Wick” series has four movies, not including the “Ballerina” spinoff, but you really need all four to reach as conclusive an ending as this series does. Also the main “Harry Potter” series reaches 8 movies, but it’s based on a seven book series, one of which needed to be split into two.
It’s when a franchise keeps a series going for too long that makes it lose its charm, and why the major film production companies should start working on making more original movies, bringing new characters and worlds for audiences to love.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hayley@kscequinox.com
