Reboots and Sequels

If you feel that movie theaters are being inundated with reboots and sequels, you’re right. They’re everywhere — with more on the way!

Casino.ca recently did a Worst Movie Sequel Study, searching through more than 100,000 reviews for nine different negative keywords — including “boring,” “waste” and “trash” — to decide which of the highest-grossing movie sequels are the all-time worst.

Here are the results:

1. Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”
2. George Lucas’ “Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi.”
3. James Bond’s “Skyfall.”
4. “Avengers” appeared three times, making it the worst-reviewed franchise.

The primary reason reboots and sequels are made is simple: money. Filmmakers just take what worked in the original, sprinkle in some new twists with beloved characters and familiar settings — and you’ve got another installment.

Conversely, research has shown that when there’s a new film that no one knows anything about, something that doesn’t emanate from a popular novel, a completely new story, audiences may be reluctant to line up at the box office.

So remakes are — generally — a safe bet. Since “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” and “Gorilla vs. Kong: The New Empire” have already opened at local theaters, popcorn partisans are eagerly awaiting “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” and “Bad Boys 4.”

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, 2024 also beckons “Deadpool 3,” “Venom 3,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”, “Despicable Me 4,” “Beetlejuice 2,” “Inside Out 2,” “Twisters,” and “Gladiator 2.”

Don’t say you weren’t warned.