Despite Audiences Claiming Franchise Fatigue, Prequels, Sequels, Extended Universes Remain Most Popular Streaming Titles
There’s a content trend rising across the streaming industry, and it’s one that audiences should be very familiar with by now. More and more streaming services (and media outlets in general) are preparing to rely even more heavily on their big-name intellectual properties for content, as both Disney under Bob Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery under David Zaslav have committed to producing more titles from their most popular brands.
That news was met with a slough of grunts, groans, and other vaguely annoyed noises from fans, many of whom profess to be tired of big franchises and eager for more original content. But according to newly released data from Diesel Labs, users who say they want fewer franchise titles on platforms like Disney+ and HBO Max might not be practicing what they preach.
Diesel’s 2022 End of Year report shows that seven of the top 10 new shows of 2022 in terms of audience attention were from an established franchise. To boot, they were the top seven new shows of last year as well, leaving originals like “Our Flag Means Death” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” to vie for the lowest positions on the top-10 list. No non-franchise title garnered more than 12% of audience attention last year.
The “Game of Thrones,” Star Wars, and Marvel content factors led the way, with Disney+ serving as the home for half of the top 10
The same was true for 2022’s top movies. Popular franchises dominated theatrical releases last year, with eight of the top 10 film releases in terms of audience attention coming from a known IP. “Don’t Worry Darling,” which generated a good deal of controversy prior to its release and the Best Picture-winning “Everything Everywhere All At Once” were the only non-franchise films to make it onto Diesel’s top 10 list.
Superheroes were again popular on the big screen, with three MCU films and two DC movies in the mix.
The trend will undoubtedly continue in 2023, as well. More than half of the most-anticipated movies and TV series being released this year will be from big-name franchises. Some titles like “Super Mario Bros.” have already hit theaters, and have seen incredible box office results. “Mario” recently crossed the $1 billion mark at global box offices, and “John Wick: Chapter 4” is nearing the $500 million point.
This data validates the decision of companies like WBD and Disney to rely on their franchises more heavily. This transitory phase in the streaming industry is causing companies to reevaluate everything about the ways their streamers operate. Only Netflix has figured out how to make streaming profitable among the major providers so far, and with profitability now the most important metric for streamers in the eyes of the market, content providers are headed back to the drawing board to see how they can most efficiently improve their bottom lines.
Franchises can help streamers in other ways, as well. A survey from March 2023 shows that consumers often use the franchises housed on a particular streaming service to tell it apart from other streaming platforms. Marvel is the biggest draw of the major franchises on streaming currently, with 40% of those surveyed saying they were likely to watch a show based in that universe.
That’s why the seemingly endless pipeline of sequels and spinoffs from Hollywood isn’t likely to end anytime soon. Users may groan about the seeming lack of new titles from unused IP, but the data shows clearly that when movies and series from well-known franchises are released, people are tuning in. Money talks, and movie and streaming executives will continue to harvest content from their popular franchises as long as audiences continue to show up with their dollars.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”