Do we really all hate franchises and sequels?

Box office recap

Here’s a fun fact: Dunkirk is the first number one opening for a non-franchise movie of the summer. Every other weekend during this summer has been led by a movie that is either a sequel or part of a major franchise. We hear people complain a lot about the industry being nothing but reboots, rehashes, remakes, and sequels, but, as the box office shows, we’re pretty happy heading out to them.

Then again, maybe it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. Was there really any non-franchise movie that was even set up to take the top spot at the box office before Dunkirk? Not that I can think of. A comedy at some point might have had the best shot, but most weekends opened with a big franchise blockbuster. Are we even given the chance to make a non-franchise film number one anymore? Would anyone suggest opening Dunkirk up against Spider-Man: Homecoming? Of course not. It would get destroyed. But that leads us back to us choosing sequels and tie-ins over originality. It’s a chicken and egg situation, maybe.

So is our penchant to moan about franchise films a lot of hypocrisy or is it just there’s nothing else to see?

Full box office (featuring a stunning total for the surprisingly decent Girls Trip and WonderWoman becoming the top grossing movie of the summer so far) below. 

1. Dunkirk – $50,500,000
2. Girls Trip – $30,370,720
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming – $22,010,000
4. War for the Planet of the Apes – $20,400,000
5. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – $17,020,000
6. Despicable Me 3 – $12,714,475
7. Baby Driver – $6,000,000
8. The Big Sick – $5,000,000
9. Wonder Woman – $4,630,000
10. Wish Upon – $2,477,816