THE WEDNESDAY CHARTS | The current state of theatrical film franchises | April 30, 2025
2024 was a very good year; 2025 will be as well, and like last year it's back-loaded
Note: This is our first WEDNESDAY CHARTS edition. Starting next week and each week after that, the WEDNESDAY CHARTS will be sent to our paid subscribers —
The Wednesday Charts | The current state of theatrical film franchises | April 30, 2025
- Franchise series films represent 82% of Hollywood's worldwide box office. They drive commercial moviegoing, employ a lot of talented artists, pay the overhead, and push popular culture forward.
2024 was a very good year for franchise films. We look at the number of series highs and series lows each year, and in 2024 there were 13 series highs and 15 lows. That's excellent. Inside Out 2, Deadpool 3 and Moana 2 led the highs.
This year, like 2024, the biggest titles are back-loaded and come during the second half of the year — you can see it here:
- Bear in mind, these stories are cyclical. The average interval between episodes is a steady 3 years. We haven't had a Star Wars, a Jurassic, or an Avatar in recent years, and we’ll have them this year and next.
The end of this year is especially strong with Wicked 2, Zootopia 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Avatar 3 — all juggernauts.
- We expect this part of the business to continue to heal. It’s not the answer to every challenge the industry is facing, but it’s central to moviegoing’s success.
Publisher’s note
Thank you for your recent notes and feedback. We looked at a lot of good ideas from a lot of people. We've rearranged some things and added a Wednesday edition so we can serve all of our readers' interests, both serious and casual readers. We'll continue to write the newsletter in our "get-to-the-point,” “don’t-waste-a-second-of-my-time" editorial style — that's our hallmark. To see all of our work, be sure to upgrade to a paid subscription. We're happy to be back!