Why It's Okay to Be Excited About Sequels, Remakes, and Revivals
So, there's this interesting piece by Sarah Ward discussing how people are totally justified in their enthusiasm for both new movies and franchise films. She uses box office stats from 2026 to back it up. Two original horror films, Obsession by Curry Barker and Backrooms by 21-year-old Kane Parsons, made it into the global top 10, even beating out big names like Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Scream. Still, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was the biggest hit of the year, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Toy Story 5 also making the top 10. Ward mentions franchise fatigue, with some sequels dropping numbers and others, like the canceled Buffy reboot, failing to launch. She points out that many original stories often borrow from existing ideas, showing how reimagining familiar concepts can lead to exciting new works, like Apple TV+'s Widow's Bay, which draws inspiration from classics like Parks and Recreation and Twin Peaks.
Key facts
- Original horror films Obsession and Backrooms are in the global box office top 10 for 2026.
- Obsession out-grossed Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.
- Backrooms and Obsession outperformed the latest Scream, Mortal Kombat, and Masters of the Universe.
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the highest-grossing film of 2026 as of writing.
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 ranks fourth at the box office.
- Toy Story 5 entered the top 10 in its first week of release.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale was cancelled despite Sarah Michelle Gellar's return and Chloé Zhao directing.
- 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple are cited as exemplary sequels that build on legacy.
- Backrooms originated as a meme and webseries by Kane Parsons.
- Obsession uses a 'careful-what-you-wish-for' concept also seen in The Craft and Buffy.
- Apple TV+'s Widow's Bay began as a spec script for Parks and Recreation and draws from Twin Peaks, Lost, and Stephen King.
Entities
Artists
- Curry Barker
- Kane Parsons
- Hugh Jackman
- Michael Sarnoski
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Chloé Zhao
- Danny Boyle
- Alex Garland
- Cillian Murphy
- Guillermo del Toro
- Denis Villeneuve
- David Lynch
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Christopher Booker
- Sarah Ward
- Kiana Daniele
- Michael Harte
- Stephen A Russell
- Leah J. Williams
- Zoe Pepper
Institutions
- A24
- Sony Pictures
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Disney
- Pixar
- Apple TV+
- Netflix
- ABC
- Stan
- SBS
- BritBox
- ScreenHub
- ArtsHub
- Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Goethe-Institut Australien
- Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
- Concrete Playground
- Variety Australia
- Flicks
- Junkee
- FilmInk
- Broadsheet
- Metro Magazine
- Screen Education
- City of Gold Coast
- Freeplay
Locations
- Australia
- Gold Coast
- UK