Final Recommendation
This research provides insight into how members of the young Generation Z perceive the current market saturation of film sequels, remakes, and adaptions, how they feel about it, and how they choose to share these feelings.
For: Film industry professionals and marketers.
When creating new Hollywood projects, while nostalgia can be a useful tool, recycling old content and ideas comes across to members of Generation Z as uncreative. Participants in this research indicated that they would share their thoughts with others on a film they've watched whether they liked or disliked it. Ticket sales are important, but if bad word-of-mouth is spreading about a film or it's parent company after it has been seen, that will hurt in long term.
Platforms like TikTok and Letterboxed are great resources for gauging how audiences feel about a film outside of official reviews from critics. Utilize these to collect data that can inform how decisions can be made in ways that will benefit all parties involved in the long run.
Future Research
Advice for replicating the study
For other researchers interested in replicating this survey, be sure to distribute the questions to a large variety of individuals, across backgrounds within the age range of Generation Z. This will allow the results to be much more generalizable of the entire generation, rather than confined to a small area of the New England region.
Ensure that individuals cannot complete the survey without first providing an answer to every question. This will allow for very few, if any, responses that need to be discounted due to incompletion.
New topics to explore
How has the rise in the use of streaming platforms contributed to the increase in sequel, remake, and adaptation films?
How does fandom culture, theories, leaks, and overall online discussion shape Gen Z's interaction with and appreciation of sequels, remakes, and adaptations?
Is the rise of sequels in any way tied to an overarching desire for emotional comfort or stability?