It seems today everyone has aspirations for their film, TV show or video game to become a 'franchise'. The word 'franchise' means different things to different people, but the thing it embodies for everyone is the opportunity to drive significant and sustained revenue.
We won’t debate here on what constitutes a TV show vs. a brand vs. a franchise but instead what is needed to sustain a franchise over decades, bring in new audiences and monetize them across multiple touch points.
Mission: Impossible is a very incredibly successful film franchise but the reluctance of its star to have his likeness used outside of the films has severely hindered opportunities to extend the IP into other mediums such as video games and products. Tom Cruise’s incredibly close ties to the franchise means that after 8 films it will be difficult to hand it over to a new lead. See The Bourne series which had difficulties passing the baton from Matt Damon to Jeremy Renner after just 3 films. Jeremy Renner was apparently also in the frame to take over from Tom Cruise in the orignal script for the fourth MI film, but this ultimately didn’t happen.
Given the limitations on expanding the franchise, for now at least, it seems that films will remain the sole focus, and - potential spoiler - with Tom Cruise in the lead role. Given the latest film looks set to be the most successful to date it’s certain the newly merged Skydance/Paramount studio will be keen to keep it going. However, now in his 60s, how many more death defying stunts can Cruise continue to do? Perhaps a return to TV, with more espionage and less stunts and with a new lead is the next logical step for the franchise, similar to what Paramount did with Jack Ryan. And if the new star is open to their likeness being used then, off the back of that, a wider array of touchpoints can be developed and a true franchise born.
Some of the biggest and most enduring franchises today include Star Wars, the MCU, DC, James Bond, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World and Lord of the Rings. What they all have in common, and the key to their success, is this array of multiple touch points for fans to interact with and newcomers to discover.
Even before the Disney purchase, Star Wars had successfully expanded into consumer products, video games and location based experiences. As we know, what Disney did do was create a pipeline of new content, with multiple new films and new TV shows - covering different genres and appealing to different audiences. And with this, they also further expanded the licensing program and location based experiences. And this is the recipe to maintaining a franchise - even if not all fans are going to enjoy everything created - consistent investment in ‘the new’.
Marvel may have taken this to the extreme with its film and TV pipeline, and they now seem focused on a, fewer and better strategy, to try and reduce the franchise fatigue that has set in. This fatigue was likely compounded by the fact that almost all of its content was interconnected. So although like Star Wars they also created TV shows appealing to different fans, to truly understand what was going on you had to consume multiple films and TV shows each year just to keep up.
However we must remember that even with some content entries not seeing previous commercial success, the MCU remains an absolute juggernaut of a franchise that any other studio in the world would give their right arm to have in their portfolio.
Jurassic Park, with another movie, hopefully the start of a new third trilogy, coming out this summer, has also shown that the key to maintaining a franchise is to just keep going. Even with some films not hitting the high points of previous entries, either commercially or critically and helped by an iconic logo, a strong roster of consumer products and experiences has been built. And new generations of fans have been created through kids targeted content being distributed on the world’s biggest streaming service.
Warner Bros. tried a similar strategy with the expansion of Harry Potter into The Wizarding World. However the dilution of the core essence fans loved - the British setting and the core storyline - meant the Fantastic Beasts movies did not hit the mark with fans. However the video game Hogwarts Legacy, by returning to what made the franchise so successful, the combination of British boarding school, magic and exploration, has proved to be a strong new touchpoint.
It should come as little surprise then that the original stories are now being reinterpreted for the small screen on HBO - the home of prestige TV like Game of Thrones. It will be interesting to see what age the TV show is targeted at, and what impact, if any, the widely publicised opinions of its creator, has on its success.
One franchise to watch over the next few years, is James Bond. Having followed the ‘less is more’ model, with a film released on average a film every 2.5 years, the taking control of the IP by Amazon could well change the game. There have been some successful video games over the years, such as the 1997 N64 Goldeneye which still holds a special place for many fans, and a recent attempt at a TV game show spin off, by Amazon Prime, 007 Road to a Million. Apart from these Bond has instead been used to showcase products through placement in the franchise - particularly cars, watches and tech - rather than licensing. With the $8.5B Amazon paid for MGM, then the additional $1B they paid to get creative control of 007, the studio will be looking at how they build Bond out into a true franchise with those significant and sustained revenue streams from multiple touch points. The mooted 007 location based experience at the newly announced Universal resort in the UK will be a good test for the franchise in its home market.
A more immediate test case will be James Gunn's new Superman film releasing this summer. The start of a rebooted DC cinematic universe there is a lot hinging on the film. Early buzz is good, but it will need to over deliver if it is to reignite interest in a new and bigger series of films. In terms of licensing DC has done well for decades, and Batman with this vehicles and gadgets, has been the poster boy - especially with younger fans - due to the easy and natural extension into toys, video games etc. Superman has always struggled slightly in comparison, but the iconic S-shield t-shirt has been a best-seller for decades and expect a lot of licensing lessons to have been learnt from the 2010s films on what does and doesn't work.
What is true of all the franchises mentioned is that to be successful in the long term, and continue to not only sustain but grow revenue, a consistent content and product pipeline is needed. Listen to the fans and community that has been built either organically or by the IP owners, they will tell you with their wallets what they think is worth their time, and not. Don’t be afraid of reinvention and ensuring your IP stays relevant to new audiences whilst maintaining the core essence that made it successful in the first place. Coupled with licensing into video games, products and experiences this new content will help maintain excitement with existing fans and bring in new generations.