“Who doesn’t love the cinema? It’s a great place to see films made by a committed group of people who have used the arts to express themselves in entertaining and sometimes emotional ways”. This statement may have been true a few years ago but these days it’s a work of fiction. Every year our cinemas are becoming more and more oversaturated with endless sequels, franchises, and remakes. Franchises aren’t always a bad thing. In fact, one of my favorite films of 2017 was ‘Logan’ and it was the third film in a trilogy that was also the tenth film in ‘x-men’ franchise that’s been running since 2002.

However, Logan was a film that was different to the rest of the ‘x-men’ franchise. It’s the exception and not the rule. Franchises like ‘x-men’ have become an issue because they are ruling the film industry. With so little variety available, people are going to the cinema less and less. Don’t believe me? 2017 had the lowest box office results in eleven years. Many would blame this on the rise of great T.V. shows that not only rival many of the films being released today but surpass them. They aren’t completely wrong, this has wounded the cinema, but the injuries aren’t life-threatening.

The real problem lies in the cinema itself. If you were to remove the handful of films that come out around Oscar season you would be left with almost entirely remakes, sequels, and franchises for the whole year. The highest grossing film of 2017 was ‘Beauty and the beast’. It boasted high production values and some laughs. It was also a cheap and filthy cash grab that no one asked for.  All the time, effort and most importantly money that went into this film could have gone into adapting a popular book to the screen or a new idea etc. Instead just did the same thing that someone else did in 1991. No one asked for a live-action remake of our favorite animated films!

To make matters worse, this film was made by Disney. The studio behind classics such as ‘Monsters Inc’, Toy Story and many more. These films had a voice, a message. This was because Disney placed story and characters ahead of the thickness of its wallets. Adding to the fire, it has been proven that Disney can still make original films and still walk away with a very satisfactory profit. The prime example being Frozen. That film made 1.3 billion dollars. That’s not even considering the countless numbers of merchandise sold. Disney seems oblivious to this fact as it currently has eight sequels and eleven live-action remakes planned. These include ‘Toy Story 4’ and a live-action remake of ‘Aladdin’.

Why can’t a film just be a film? Why can’t a writer or director have the freedom to use their unique voice to express themselves through a film?There's a reason 'Get Out' was one of, if not the most talked about film of 2017. It was actually original. Studios like Disney need to ask themselves these questions and seriously reconsider their plans. If the film industry continues down this route, the day may soon come when cinemas will become barren and irrelevant. Also, there will be a lot of angry nerds. Believe me, nobody wants that.