By India McCarty
From superheroes to sci-fi epics to spy thrillers, franchises with beloved characters were always a good bet in Hollywood. However, a new report reveals some major changes that have come to a series’ performance at the box office.
“It’s not why anyone wanted to be in this business, to make the 12th version of something,” one veteran studio executive told Variety of the seemingly-endless parade of sequels, prequels and reboots.
Variety’s new report took many factors into consideration when ranking franchises’ current standings, including box office gross, past movies’ performance, production budget and creativity.
The first bombshell from the report? Marvel — once thought of as a sure-thing when it came to making millions — is no longer a safe bet. The three Marvel movies released this year all underperformed at the box office, and one agent told Variety actors are no longer clamoring to score a role in the franchise, saying, “I don’t have as many clients asking to do one as they were five years ago.”
“Any movie could be huge, but nothing is close to a guarantee,” a director added.
Shawn Robbins, Fandango’s movie analytics director, told Variety in another interview, “Marvel’s calculus has changed. We’re in a new era where not every Marvel movie is going to hit $1 billion.”
Related: Disney Struggles to Win Over Young Male Audience. Why?
‘THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS’ is the first and only #MCU film in 2025 to gross $500M at the worldwide box office. pic.twitter.com/ybiLWw4Qzk
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) August 31, 2025
Another franchise that went from a top earner to a box office disappointment? Star Wars.
“It should be the biggest franchise of all time,” a producer told Variety. “They stopped making it special; nothing makes me more mad. The sky’s the limit if they could get it right.”
ScreenRant pointed out that Star Wars executives might already be making mistakes; for example, the marketing for THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, set to premiere next winter.
“Most people have no idea a new Star Wars movie is coming,” the outlet noted. “The little promotion that has taken place has barely made a dent [in the public’s conscious].”
While some are stumbling at the box office, other franchises are doing just fine. For example, DC has made strong steps with THE BATMAN and SUPERMAN, with one exec remarking, “If Batman and Superman are humming at the same time, there’s no limit to what they could do.”
JURASSIC PARK and THE HUNGER GAMES are also performing well with audiences, but experts warned that that could change at any time.
“They had lightning in a bottle with Jennifer Lawrence,” an executive said of new HUNGER GAMES installment SUNRISE ON THE REAPING. “I don’t know that you get that back.”
Other franchises have potential to stay on top, such as JAMES BOND. The movie series is currently on the hunt for its new leading man, and experts say the actor who takes the role has the potential to become a superstar.
“Denis [Villeneuve] made DUNE both accessible and profound. He could do the same with Bond,” one filmmaker explained, while an agent added, “Tens across the board. That was the hottest job in town.”
Another installment in a beloved franchise used to be a safe bet at the box office, but with this report’s new findings, it’s clear that Hollywood needs to rethink their formula.
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