Paramount Pictures
Hollywood is ( still ) in its superhero craze , and in the yesteryear , it ’s had a zombie delirium , a lamia craze , a slasher craze , and more . The entertainment industriousness also pump out a yearly provision of generic Christmas moving picture that are always the same , and formulaic rom - coms have been liberate virtually unaltered since the 1960s . Clearly , Hollywood does n’t care if it repeats itself over and over again . So then , why do we get so few monster movies ?
The realism of most genres definitely has its place in picture since it can help contribute emotional weightiness to a chronicle . But c’m on , how many acrid dramas and coarse-grained noirs can a soul keep an eye on before they want something magnanimous , loud , colorful , and epic ?
Paramount Pictures
It ’s not that monster picture show are n’t democratic either . In ecumenical , when colossus motion-picture show are released , they ’re often successful . Even a “ moderately ” successful monster movie likeAnacondamanaged to run down in more than $ 136 million in 1997 ( equating to about $ 266 million today ) . fiend film are fun , exciting , and can even be suspenseful and scary . They ’re on the dot what mess of consultation want . So why are n’t there more of them ?
The Monsterverse proves monster movies are profitable
There was a period throughout the 2000s and early 2010s where monster movies had clearly become passé . The era only had a handful of mainstream monster pic , with 2007’sThe Mistand 2008’sCloverfieldbeing the two most notable instance . But again , both picture show turn a net , withCloverfieldeven score a record - breaking $ 46 million opening weekend , cause it the big January premiere ever at the clock time .
MaybeCloverfieldjust came out at the wrong time . In 2008 , Hollywood was hype the zombie and vampire trends into full gear wheel , with things likeTwilightandTrue Blooddominating pop culture . So it ’s possible the studios were preoccupy with mollify the current trend alternatively of create a new one . But things get down to change in 2013 with the press release ofPacific Rim . Guillermo del Toro ’s movie about giant colossus was only a temperate succeeder in America , but a smash rack up globally , once again prove that demon pic could turn huge profits .
Then , in 2014 , we got theGodzillareboot that ultimatelylaunched the Monsterverse . After it grossed almost $ 525 million , Hollywood last seemed to get that teras flick were popular and profitable . AKing Kongreboot follow , then a Godzilla subsequence , and then the mash - up picture that brought Kong and Godzilla into the same plastic film series .
So far , the franchise has grossed over $ 2.5 billion at the box office and engender pelt series likeMonarch : Legacy of MonstersandSkull Island . Also , let ’s not forget that Godzilla is having a resurgence in the Japanese Tohoverse as well thanks to hits likeShin Godzilla(2016 ) andGodzilla Minus One(2023 ) .
The Monsterverse has proven that monster motion-picture show can be the big blockbuster hits that studios require , but apart from Godzilla and King Kong , we ’re still not seeing many releases from the music genre .
Monster movies have been around since the start of Hollywood
The success of Godzilla is n’t the first example of how popular teras movies can be . In fact , fiend movies have been around since the beginning of film and even dominated Hollywood in its early days . Godzilla himself originated back in 1954 , and by then monster movies had already been around for decades . The Wolf Mancame out in 1941,King Kongroared into theatre in 1933 , andThe Mummywas released in 1932 .
But the genre go back even further , withDraculaandFrankensteinboth premiering in 1931 , and further back in 1915 , there was the silent monster filmThe Golem . Since then , monsters have continually capture audiences ’ imagination for over 100 years thanks to collide with likeCreature From the Black Lagoon(1954),Alien(1979 ) , and John Carpenter’sThe Thing(1982 ) . There are so many example of hit monster movies throughout the decades , so it ’s even more outre that lover of the genre do n’t see more monster movies hitting theatre of operations or streaming services .
There are tons of monster movie IPs waiting to be revived
In recent decades , the amusement diligence seems more and more afraid to free original content , instead opt sequels , reboots , prequels , or book adaptations . But with over a century of monster picture information science to choose from , it would be well-off for Hollywood to revive a franchise that ’s already been successful .
Tons of monster movies have never had continuation , or have n’t had sequel in decade , likeTremors , The Descent , andDog Soldiers . Cloverfieldnever even mother a right monster - focused subsequence . If Hollywood is too afraid to make Modern lusus naturae movies , there ’s tons of successful IPs out there for studio apartment to prefer from .
There ’s also promising signs from the few franchises that are being revived . The Predator filmPreywas a massive bang for Hulu andAlien : Romuluspremiered to respectable reviews in August . TheJurassic Worldfranchiseis another example of a revive IP that became successful – so much so that the movies are even more profitable than the originals . What more trial impression does Hollywood take that audiences love colossus flick and need more ?
We might be at the start of a monster movie resurgence
The good newsworthiness is that monster picture show might be pee a comeback . The Monsterverse has help invigorate stake in the genre , and there are more Godzilla films on the way . Plus , Universal Studios is working on its Dark Universe land at the coming Epic Universe composition park . The land is devote entirely to classic Universal monsters like Dracula , the Wolfman , Frankenstein ’s goliath , and more . Along with that , Universal has announced plans to boot many of its classic giant franchise .
AnotherPredatorsequel is also reportedly in output , anAlienTV serial publication is on the room , and more giant shark moving picture are heading to theaters in the coming years , including a47 Meters Downsequel , among others . Could this be a house that the tide are turning ? Could a new devil craze be on the way ? Could it be Hollywood ’s next trend ?
I sure go for so . As someone who loves monster movies , I do n’t think we get enough of them , and I ’m sure there are lots of other fans out there who feel the same .
