The Reign of Franchise Filmmaking in Hollywood

This paper examines the heightened efforts by Hollywood major studios to produce tentpole and franchise films both as one of the most significant trends in Hollywood film production especially since the late 2000s and as an important matter that affects what people around the world see on the big screen. It explores how faltering DVD revenue and the recession in the late 2000s made the studios extremely cost-conscious and profit-hungry, while also elevating the importance of international markets. In this context, the studios further focused on the production of tentpole franchises as the most profitable and safest choice, which led to the intensification in their production of these. The paper also looks at Disney as the foremost instance of the studios’ franchise strategy and how such change has been shaping the Hollywood film industry since the late 2000s. By examining the altered production landscape dominated by expensive franchises and the changes this has brought, the paper hopes to reveal the limited nature of even the commercial films that come out of Hollywood and the choices at the box office, as well as the current state of Hollywood filmmaking and the forces that have been driving the Hollywood film industry in recent years.