Franchise Syndrome Archives - Page 2 of 17

2025: The Year of Horror

The film industry has been up-and-down, as a whole, in 2025. While the domestic box office actually crossed $8 billion for only the third time since the global spread of COVID-19, its overall totals were incredibly top heavy, featuring more… Continue Reading →

The Music City Film Critics Honor Sinners as the Big Winner of 2025

Sinning equals winning for Warner Bros. this year!

January 12, 2026

Wicked: For Good and the Price of Playing the Villain

I have spent a large portion of my life pretending to be things I am very much not. In middle school, I pretended I understood whatever band everyone else suddenly swore had “changed their life,” nodding along like I’d memorized… Continue Reading →

January 6, 2026

Will Tron: Ares be Jared Leto’s Final Franchise Fumble?

How many successful film franchises are based on retro-classic video games? A couple that instantly come to mind are Super Mario Bros. and Sonic. I guess a better question to ask is how many successful film franchises have actually been… Continue Reading →

December 27, 2025

28 Years Later: Expectations, Reality and a Very Different Movie

I went into 28 Years Later expecting water. Clean, familiar, maybe a little stale from sitting out too long, but ultimately recognizable. I expected the cinematic equivalent of rehydration, something that would remind me why this series mattered, hit the… Continue Reading →

December 21, 2025

Wake Up Dead Man is Righteous Knives Out Sequel

I grew up around faith the way some people grow up around fire. It was always present, always framed as protective and always capable of doing real damage, depending on who was holding the match. I watched ordinary people gain… Continue Reading →

December 20, 2025

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Turns Up the Terror and the Lore

I sometimes wonder if the universe is trying to humble me. Maybe I have gotten too comfortable sleeping through the night without worrying about animatronic animals attempting to rearrange my spinal column. Maybe life has gotten too peaceful, too quiet,… Continue Reading →

December 4, 2025

Derry Welcomes IT’s Comparison to Stephen King’s Hometown

These days, it’s become incredibly difficult to separate the wheat (pop-culture gold) from the chaff (its divisive creator) because they’re eternally connected. Say what you will about his many hit-or-miss adaptations, Stephen King probably feels bulletproof, cranking out book after… Continue Reading →

November 4, 2025

Watching Superman as a Buddy Film

After watching Superman recently, my first thought was: Mr. Terrific > Supes. And that Krypto was the true hero of the film. But after I got those hot takes out of my system, I was thinking this wasn’t your average… Continue Reading →

September 29, 2025

Marvel Zombies Finally Rise Up!

Marvel Zombies definitely have a voracious appetite. Established at the end of 2005, the killer hunger of this undead menace has raged through more than 30 releases through almost 20 years via Marvel Comics. And now, just in time for… Continue Reading →

September 24, 2025

Geek Culture, Zombies... and Other Monsters

Tag Franchise Syndrome