2011, The Year of the Sequel

It’s official: Hollywood is tapped for any fresh ideas. One in five films released this year will either be a sequel, prequel, or spin-off. Not that this should come as a huge shock to anyone.
According to a report by Box Office Mojo, Hollywood will rely on former glories in 2011 to a greater degree than ever before. Sequels, prequels, and spin-offs comprise over a fifth of the currently scheduled nationwide releases, tallying 27 — including the third installment of the Big Momma series, “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.” Last year, there were 19 sequels, prequels and spin-offs, and the previous high was 24 in 2003.
I’ve complained about adaptations and remakes, especially with TV. In general, I’m not totally opposed to sequels. I hope they make Ghostbusters 3, expect Scream 4 to be a blast, and can’t wait for the next Iron Man and Batman films. But we don’t need a third Big Mamma, a third Alvin and the Chipmunks, a fourth Mission Impossible and Pirates of the Caribbean. And we certainly don’t need a fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. I’m pretty sure we’ll all survive without it.
And some of the titles to these are just precious. The next Piranha 3-D film will be called…. wait for it…. Piranha 3DD. I can see the movie poster taglilne: “Piranha 3DD — The extra ‘D’ is for Dumb.”
Hollywood can do better. It’s up to the consumer to show them what we’re not willing to spend our money on bad movies.
Here’s the complete list of all the sequels set for release this year:
Second films: Cars 2, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, The Hangover Part II, Happy Feet 2, Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil, Johnny English Reborn, Kung Fu Panda 2, Piranha 3DD, Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows.
Third films: Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, Madea’s Big Happy Family, Paranormal Activity 3, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.
Fourth films: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Scream 4, Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One).
Fifth films: Fast Five, Final Destination 5, Puss In Boots, X-Men: First Class, Winnie The Pooh.
Seventh films: The Muppets and Rise Of The Apes.
Eighth film: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two.