From Business Insider · Gabbi Shaw · · 1m 30s
Legacy sequels boom despite uneven quality
Hollywood banks on nostalgia as legacy sequels rake in billions, regardless of critical reception.
In brief
Hollywood banks on nostalgia as legacy sequels rake in billions, regardless of critical reception. Legacy sequels are driving box office success in Hollywood, with films like Spider-Man and Top Gun: Maverick earning billions, though quality varies widely. Originally reported by Business Insider.
Nostalgia drives Hollywood sequels
Legacy sequels are rising in Hollywood, especially after successes like Twisters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Top Gun: Maverick. The trend capitalises on nostalgia's powerful appeal to audiences.
Quality varies wildly among sequels
Not all legacy sequels succeed creatively. For every boundary-pushing film like The Matrix Resurrections, there are abysmal films such as Independence Day: Resurgence.
Box office gold regardless of reviews
Hollywood is learning that sequels sell, sometimes regardless of quality. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has made nearly two point five billion dollars and is now the highest-grossing film in the US ever.
Top Gun: Maverick breaks records
Top Gun: Maverick became the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise's career, earning one point five billion dollars, per Box Office Mojo data.
Jurassic World profits despite criticism
It could be argued that almost no one liked any of the Jurassic World films, yet they each made over one billion dollars.
New legacy sequels arriving this year
This year's legacy sequels include The Devil Wears Prada 2, picking up twenty years after Miranda Priestly schooled Andy Sachs on cerulean belts, and Practical Magic 2, following the Owens witches cursed by love.
The short version
Legacy sequels are driving box office success in Hollywood, with films like Spider-Man and Top Gun: Maverick earning billions, though quality varies widely.
