We need original movies, not more remakes

I enjoy going to see movies. Comedy, tragedy, romantic, scary; I love any type of film. However, it seems that, as I go to the movies, there are fewer and fewer original ones. There have six Fast and Furious films. There are countless superhero movies and sequels. There are movies based on books or real life- or even movies based on TV shows. It is getting outrageous. There is simply no original material and that is very frustrating.

According to the Internet Movie Data Base, only 17 of the top 50 grossing movies of 2013 were original films. Two of those films, Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down had eerily similar plotlines. So, for argument’s sake, let’s just say that there were 16 original plot lines of the top 50 movies.

What exactly does this mean? Does it mean that moviegoers don’t like new ideas or does it mean that the new ideas aren’t that good? It is difficult to know. However, I can tell you one thing. There are only so many times that we can tell stories before it gets overrated and too unoriginal.

For example, this year, they released Ironman 3. Robert Downey Jr, of course, played Ironman. It was a pretty good movie. But, let’s break it down.

Ironman 3 was part of a trilogy and also continued the story from The Avengers. And Ironman was in a TV show. Oh yeah, and it is originally based on a comic book. So, where is the original material?

I’m not hating on superhero movies only. I know that the same superheroes (Spiderman, Superman, Batman) will be repeated on and on until movies stop existing. While it is annoying, it is understandable.

What about the movies based on books? The Great Gatsby, which was released this year, is based on the book of the same name. That’s fine. It’s an American classic. However, the book has been brought to the screen six different times. There was the silent film adaption in 1926 and there was a hip-hop adaption, G released in 2002.

And don’t even get me started on Lincoln. The film about the 16th president isn’t even an original screenplay. It is an adaption of a book about Abe. Come on guys, that’s just laziness.

Ok, what about the movies that aren’t adapted. They ought to be pretty good, right? Of the top 16 original plotlines, five are animated children’s films, four were comedy, three (four if you separate Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down) were drama and four were science fiction. At least there was a little range.

One of the original ideas was Will Smith’s After Earth. According to the film critique aggregatorRotten Tomatoes After Earth had a rating of a 3.8/10 or an 11% approval rate. The film cost $150 million to make and only churned out $27 million in the opening box office, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, Ironman 3 had an a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has made $409 million in the box office.

If sequels and remakes are what make money, then why should we stop making them? Because remakes are a short-term solution. Sure, another remake or sequel will make money now but when you get to number five or six or seven, fans will be tired of the material.

So maybe some of the original plots will stink. Not every movie is going to be a winner. We have to have more than 16 a year.

Plus, if we don’t have any original films, what will our kids remake?

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