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Some movie sequels are better than the original. Others have sequels that are basically forgotten, possibly for the best.
In 1978, “Grease” took the world by storm. It had some of the most famous actors of the time play in a musical that still has people humming to this day. Some of the songs have even been adapted into commercials, with others living on in the karaoke hall of fame. There is, however, a sequel, “Grease 2”, that was released just four years later. With the amazing success of the first film, the sequel should have been a smash hit. Unfortunately, it was not. While the cult classic grossed nearly 400 million dollars at the box office, the sequel didn’t even break the 20 million mark.
So, what happened to the songs that shaped a generation? “Grease 2” is not the only bad sequel ever. It did what a lot of movies do: it saw what made the first movie successful and leaned too far into that format. The main characters weren’t original, instead feeling like copies of the characters who made them money in the first place.
Why does this happen? It’s pretty easy to see that financial success make movie studios greedy. Big production companies are more likely to see movies based on how much money they made and not on whether or not the movie is deserving of a sequel. While “Grease” was a huge commercial success, there were many factors, including originality, that made the sequel much more of a money loss.
Not all sequels are bad though. Take, for instance, “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back”. This movie released back in 1980 as a follow up to the previous Star Wars movie “A New Hope”. While “Empire” used many of the same characters established in Episode IV, it took them on a journey that had never been seen before. Instead of the same story on a different planet, “Empire” made a new, original story that made sense in the world it was trying to establish. That’s what made it a good sequel. The rest of the Star Wars movies are relatively good examples of a film series expanding its universe. This is until it derailed with episodes seven, eight, and nine.
Some sequels really contribute to the longevity of a franchise and some sequels are bad enough to end them. What makes a sequel good doesn’t have to be the same thing that made the first movie good. The job of any first movies is to capture the attention of the audience and make them think that whatever world that’s being created is a world worth watching.
The job of a sequel is much different. The sequel must expand the world that had been created. “Grease 2” failed because it wasn’t a new story, it was Danny and Sandy a few years later with different looks. There were definitely some differences, and none of them were in the studio’s favor. On the other hand, Star Wars is constantly expanding its world with new stories and experiences. The same thing can be seen in other great sequels such as the “Back to the Future” series of films. Enough familiarity to establish a base interest with a different enough story to make sure the viewers aren’t bored.
