Death in a cinema does not always improve the box office. How famous film franchises earn

Over the past few years, film franchises have dominated the world box office. At the same time, each franchise faces the problem of holding the attention of viewers. Those that are based on multi-volume literary hits manage it easier, because there the movement of history is already set. Others have to figure out every time what to do to make the audience interested. One of the ways to keep film-goers’ attention is to raise the stakes: more explosions, more violence, and therefore more victims.

We conducted a study and, by analyzing the data, found out how the number of deaths of film characters in film franchises changed over time and how this affects box office receipts.

Scroll the visualization down.

In two film franchises from this list of films, the percentage of deceased film characters has not changed over time.

WHY DO FILMS SHOW DEATH?

According to our research, in every second film franchise, the percentage of deceased film characters has grown over time. This means that there were more such film franchises in the last film.

According to film director Artykpai Suiundukov, “scary” movies are filmed because is scared, but interested. And this interest stimulates the production of such films. He says that human psychology is arranged in such a way, and, if we proceed from the theory of psychologist Sigmund Freud, a person sometimes makes up for some of his missing complexes in his dreams, in his reveries, in his imagination. So it happens through films. Cinema gives people the opportunity to live what is not available to them in their routine life.

“I wish I could see, feel and be in the place of the characters of the film. Hollywood was once called the dream factory. There are, these are both terrible and good dreams. Cinema makes up for it. You are in the place of this main character, killing bad people, saving your people, maybe you are dying yourself. You live one story in one film, another one — in another. And I wish to see more”, — Suiundukov adds.

Filmmakers are constantly looking for new forms of shock for cinemagoers. Back in the era of the kinetoscope, which Thomas Edison first released in 1893, the filmmakers knew about the desires of the audience and were interested in improving the quality of their product. They closely watched the reaction of the audience. Even then, filmmakers stumbled upon the deepest and most profitable resource of cinema – its ability to give the viewer access to events that took place when he was not there, to the dangerous, fantastic, grotesque, impossible, at a close but safe distance.

In search of ways to “tickle” the nerves, film producers pay great attention to sound and noise effects in the film. The words of the actors can shock and excite the audience as well as the shot of a weapon in the frame, and sometimes even better than the video sequence itself.

According to psychologist Tychtykbek Bakytov, the increase in the number of deaths in films is more related to the demands of the audience of the action genre. During the film, they experience the death of the main characters several times and stay with them further, living in this illusion of the universe they built.

“A person going to watch a film should get maximum adrenaline and dopamine. — Bakytov says. — I do not think there is any ideology among film producers that death is good. This is done more in order to keep the viewer and so that he experiences more emotions while being on the same film”.

THE MORE DEATH IS IN FILMS, THE BETTER IS THE BOX OFFICE?

Our research showed that forty-nine film franchises out of fifty-one, where over time there was an increase in the percentage of deceased film characters, had good box office receipts. At the same time, seventeen film franchises out of nineteen also received income from the box office, where the percentage of deceased film characters decreased over time. In two film franchises, the percentage of deceased film characters has not changed, but they also earned at the box office. In other words, a decrease in the percentage of deceased film characters in film franchises does not reduce their box office receipts, and hence the attention of cinemagoers to them.

To keep the viewer’s attention, cinematographers use not only scenes of cruelty, murder, or sound and visual effects, but also editing and scenario. There is also the so-called “Retake” method (re-shooting). In this case, they once again turn to the characters who had success in the previous film, and tell further what happened to them after their first adventure. “Retake” depends on the commercial solution. There is no rule whether the second series should reproduce the first or create a completely new story, but with the same characters.

In addition, the audience’s attention is held by the very serial production of film franchises. The series covers a specific situation and a limited number of unchanging film characters, around which minor characters revolve. These minor characters give the impression that the new story is different from the previous one, but in fact the narrative intrigue does not change. The series satisfies the cinemagoer because it responds to the cinema-goer’s desire to unravel what will happen. As a rule, the series is conceived as a “loop” for a number of commercial reasons: it is about finding a way to breathe life into the series, to prevent the natural problem of aging of the main character. Instead of involving the characters in new adventures (which would mean an imminent movement to death), they are forced to relive their past endlessly.

Psychologist Tynchtykbek Bakytov says that people in such films seem to live together with their characters, build a world around these films, identify themselves with some kind of film character, merge with him and begin to live some of their personal emotions, waiting for the continuation of the story.

“It is a kind of a film therapy. You can watch films and reflect on some of your problems”, — Bakytov adds.

Film director Artykpai Suiundukov believes that, fortunately, there are no restrictions in the art. You can shoot everything – and films where humanity is in the foreground, kindness, mutual assistance, wonderful stories, some problems, show difficulties. Even if it is not a happy ending, but showing life as it is. You do not have to show murder, drugs, extermination. Although life itself is also not without deaths, it should not be the subject of bargaining, the subject of goods, the subject of sale, the subject of income. And when it is put on the first, second, third plan, then this is obviously a wrong path.

“It is necessary that this story excites people, brings benefits, so that a person has a psychological way out, because when there is a good story, a person projects this story on himself, on his family. This raises the moral tone of a person. And when begin to show hopelessness, this also exists , but there must be some kind of balance …”, — Suiundukov explains.

WHO AND WHAT KIND OF FILMS CAN WATCH?

From the 1930s to 1966, the Hayes Production Code was used in the USA. This document listed the specifics of what would not be allowed in films, and that films should not lower the moral standards of viewers. This document contained a specific list of specific topics – “illegal actions”, “vulgarity”, “blasphemy”, “gender relations”, “objects that cause disgust’ etc.”

Later, the Production Code was replaced by the Motion Picture Association of America Rating System (MPAA). In 1968, the MPAA introduced a film rating system that parents should use as a guideline to determine whether the content of a film is suitable for their children and teenagers or not.

To determine the MPAA rating for each particular film, a special commission of parents is created which reviews and discusses it. Then there is a vote, during which the film is assigned its future rating.

The rating system is voluntary and there are no legal requirements for film producers to submit their films for rating. Nevertheless, there are potentially serious economic sanctions for those film producers who do not want to adopt a rating system. For example, most cinemas will not show films without a rating, and numerous publications will not advertise films without a rating.

WHOM DO FILM STUDIOS MAKE MONEY FROM?

The results of the analysis of film franchises in our database show that almost thirty-three percent of films were produced in the PG-13 category. There are 107 such films out of 323, and there are fewer of them by 54 R (Restricted) films, of which there are 161.

The PG-13 category was added to the MPAA rating in 1984 in order to further distinguish between PG films that children are encouraged to watch with their parents. Movies in the PG-13 category can be watched by children from the age of 13. At the same time, such a film may contain moderate or gross violence, scenes with nudity; situations with a sexual context are possible, some scenes of drug use may be present, you can hear isolated use of rude curses.

In this regard, the effectiveness of the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America in reducing the impact of harmful content on young people is regularly questioned.

Study of the Annenberg Public Policy Center has shown that the rating system of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) increasingly assigns the PG-13 rating category to violent content. The researchers claim that instead of protecting young people from such content, some content that would previously have received a restrictive R (Restricted) rating is now assigned a PG-13 one.

The researchers also say that there is no difference in the main characters’ showing between the highest-grossing films with a PG-13 rating for younger viewers and limited films with an R rating. In more than half of the largest PG-13 rated films, the main characters behave aggressively, and also exhibit behavior related to sex, alcohol or tobacco.

In addition, our data analysis showed that film producers earned the most from films in the PG-13 category. The total amount is almost forty-one billion dollars. Also, more than six billion film characters died in these films which are twice as much as in films from the R rating category, where persons under the age of 17 are allowed to see the film only accompanied by one of the parents or a legal representative. This is because films in the PG-13 category can afford a huge number of deaths, provided that these deaths happen without their demonstration on the screen, as, for example, it can be seen in the “Star Wars” films, where entire planets with their inhabitants are destroyed. Whereas films of the R category do not necessarily take the number, but each death can be shown in detail, as for example it was done in “John Wick” film, where people are beaten to death with a book or killed with a pencil.

WHY ARE PG-13 FILMS SO PROFITABLE?

The results of our data research show that the categories of the MPAA rating have changed over time in film franchises. So, for example, the first films from the Terminator film franchise were in the R (Restricted) category, that is, watching such a film is prohibited for children under 17. But then one of the subsequent films received the PG-13 category, that is, it could already be watched by children from the age of 13.

The official definition of the PG-13 film rating shows that its criteria are ambiguous. For example, there are restrictions regarding scenes of violence: countless people can die on the screen, but this is permissible if blood and death are not shown in detail (for example, as in science fiction films). Also, moderate violence is allowed in PG-13 (without demonstrating cruelty), scenes with nudity or sexual context, there may also be isolated use of rude words. In reality, this means that fights with many deaths, catastrophes, wars, and demonstrations of cruelty are permissible in films that teenagers are allowed to watch.

In fact, the PG-13 category is almost ideal for film studios. They are reworking the film version in their PG-13 film franchises so that more people, mostly young people, can see it. On the one hand, teenagers believe that such a film will not be childish and it is important for them, because they consider themselves almost adults. On the other hand, parents think that the film will be stressful, but not as bad as an R-rated one that can only be watched by adults.

An important factor is the sale of toys, computer games, and various attributes in the rating of films. One of the examples of the great success of sales of figurines and other goods is associated with the “Star Wars” film. Already after the first film, in 1978, more than 42 million Star Wars merchandise was sold, and 26 million of them were action figures. And by 1985, there were more Star Wars figures on the planet than the US citizens themselves. Filmmakers need as many teenagers as possible to see their films, because children are not interested in toys or computer games from a film that they cannot watch. Thus, a PG-13 rating can make the film much more profitable due to such sales.

The psychological aspect also plays a role. “Why these are popular among teenagers, because they still face the problems of bullying, cruelty. And they can experience this with the help of a film. Many are beginning to merge with the main characters.” — the psychologist Tynchtykbek Bakytov says. — “In adolescence, a person lacks thrills. This is due to hormonal changes that occur in the body of adolescents. Therefore, it is more interesting to watch such a film in adolescence than as an adult, when hormones and psyche have stabilized.”

Film director Artykpai Suiundukov also believes that young people fill their inner emotions through films. They live a life with a film character; they are with him in search of truth or revenge. They also kill a person . And they are happy about this murder, because that man was a monster, killed parents, people, that is, he was scary. In the film, they empathize with this. And empathy means living this story together with the character.

“A person realizes some of his expectations and dreams through film characters. Dreams can be imaginary, which you will never see, or where you have never been. And in the film, you will see them”, — Suiundukov explains.

WHAT DO PARENTS SAY?

The PG-13 film rating was introduced in response to parents’ concerns, but as the studies show, currently this rating also applies to films where the level of violence, cruelty exceeds that assumed in the more restrictive category of R-rating.

The study “Parental Desensitization to Violence and Sex in Movies”, conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center showed that parents lose sensitivity to both violence and sex in films, which can contribute to wider acceptance of both types of content by both parents and evaluators working in the film industry.

As part of this study, a national sample was made in the United States of 1,000 parents living with at least 1 child from 6 to 17 years old. In a random sequence, they were shown short scenes either with violence or with sexual content from popular films. A decrease in sensitivity was observed by the characteristics of parents and children, violence against both human and non-human victims, as well as by the rating of films. Those who often watched such films were more susceptible to violence.

In their other study, “Parental Desensitization to Gun Violence in PG-13 Movies” the researchers interviewed 610 parents who have at least one child between the ages of 6 and 17. Before that, they were shown four 90-second videos from popular films depicting the violent use of weapons, which is considered either justified or unjustified, and asked about their emotional reactions and about the age they would consider appropriate to watch such a film, and whether they would allow their child to watch it. Parents reported that films with intensive use of firearms are suitable for teenagers starting from the age of 15, that is, two years older than the PG-13 rating suggests.

However, at the same time, if violence was portrayed as justified, then parents were more willing to let their child watch it. The researchers concluded that parents are less likely to restrict a child’s watching of gun violence in PG-13 rated films when it features characters whose use of weapons is considered justified. Thus, the increase in gun violence in PG-13 rated films is allowed in part because it is perceived as justified violence or is a relatively bloodless image.

Thus, both studies show that the process of reducing sensitivity to violence in films among parents is one of the reasons for the violent content of PG-13 rated films. As parents watched several videos in a row with scenes of cruelty, violence, murder and the use of weapons, they became more lenient about the age at which they allowed their children, as well as children in general, to watch the films from which these scenes are taken.

THE MAGIC OF THE BIG SCREEN

In our research, we also analyzed how people vote on the Internet for popular film franchises. We used the IMBd rating. This is the largest online movie resource. IMDb’s popular feature for its users is online voting. Any registered visitor of this site can vote for films by giving them a rating: from 1 (“worst film”) to 10 (“masterpiece”) points.

The results of our analysis showed that in most film franchises there is a decline in the online rating of IMBd over time, although on the big screen, in cinemas, they received good box office receipts.

Does this mean that films on small screens are no longer able to cause a storm of emotions in a person, and therefore lose their commercial potential? Psychologist Tynchtykbek Bakytov says that regardless of the size of the screen, a person reacts equally to some individual things. But maybe the number of emotions that the viewer experiences in the cinema when he goes to the premiere is a little higher than when you re-watch this movie at home on a small screen.

“These are also behavioral habits. To what extent a person, a user of the IMBd site, had a habit of evaluating (the author’s note – IMBD website was launched in 1990). For example, young people who are now growing in the world of ratings, they evaluate everything, they will immediately write, they will be outraged if they do not like something”, — Bakytov adds.

According to the film director Artykpai Suiundukov, when you watch a movie on a small screen, you perceive it only by 50%. A person is distracted — he can pour himself a coffee, or he got a call, and at this time he misses the very essence that they wanted to convey through music, through sound, through some frame. In addition, if a person is watching a movie on the Internet, he can rewind it at any time. The very realization that you can rewind a movie or reset it, stop it and go outside prevents a person from concentrating. And when you watch a movie on the big screen, the viewer already has no such opportunity, and therefore he sits and absorbs every second what is shown to him on the big screen.

“The most important thing is that there is some kind of psychological state in the cinema when the lights are turned off in a confined space and the viewer is left alone with the screen. No one can distract him. All his concentration is only on the screen. You are left alone with this story and begin to project it on yourself without being distracted. You perceive the entire image from the screen, the whole sound, especially the sound. You fully concentrate on this film for one and a half to two hours and perceive everything that the creators of this film wanted to say”, — Suiundukov explains.

The big screen is a habit of many generations. Small screens appeared relatively recently, several decades ago. Currently, a person has a lot of opportunities to watch a movie — various streaming services, video hosting, digital media, you can also buy yourself a projector with a huge screen on the wall etc. Although modern technologies are already in every home, this has had almost no effect on the popularity of watching movies in cinemas. Many continue to buy and book tickets in advance, especially when it comes to premieres. People are attracted by the special atmosphere of cinemas, the opportunity to watch a new movie as soon as possible and get sharper, brighter, memorable emotions, plunge into the world of dreams that are not always available in real life.

Prepared by Ms. Valentina Galich, student of MA “International Journalism and Mass Communication”, AUCA, Kyrgyzstan

Supervisor: Mr. Andriy Gazin, Data Journalism Instructor, American University of Central Asia

Screenshots from films are used in the preview photo collage.