Can a movie franchise survive the departure of its major star?
And what happens to both afterwards?
We’ve been finding out…
Movie studios love franchises.
Franchises are, bluntly, goldmines.
Dont discount downright snobbery, either.
So what happens then?
How does the franchise and the star fare when they part company?
Thus, in got drafted Jason Patric to fulfil beefcake duties.
Keanus career, meanwhile, has thrived post-Speed.
Hes not been able to buy a hit.
There wasnt, and robbed of Carreys presence, neither film was particularly impressive.
We suspect neither will be heard from again.
Theres a spoiler coming, in case youve any urge to seek this film out.
Culkin was listed third on the poster behind Dan Aykroyd and Jamie-Lee Curtis.
Never mind the weeping kids, this was cinematic comedy gold.
This, you would think, killed any chance of a follow-up.
But, in this case for commendable reasons, that wasnt the case.
Wed takeMy Girl 2over the aberration that wasBlues Brothers 2000any single day of the week.
Confidential to effectively plug the gap left by The Great Steve.
The franchise then died with the staggeringly awful seventh film,Mission To Moscow.
Sequels to that and toCocoonfollowed, but his star by this time was on the wane.
The first film has Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and a lot of expensive cars.
Diesel had hopped it, so Walker took the lead role.
But heres the interesting thing.
In short, away fromThe Fast & The Furious, his name was struggling to open a shopping mall.
All concerned would seem to appreciate it.
But just how entwined was Hopkins to the Hannibal Lecter cinematic franchise?
The opportunity to put that to the test arose when Thomas Harris delivered his manuscript ofHannibal Rising.
It was not a wise move.
The worldwide box office take ofHannibalamounted to $350m.The Silence Of The Lambspulled in $272m.
EvenRed Dragonmanaged $209m.
No Hopkins as Lecter, no deal, seemed to be the lesson.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER TERMINATOR
In effect, two stars of theTerminatorfranchise are with it no longer.
Thats still big money by most peoples standards, just not by the standards required of the expensiveTerminatorfranchise.
Its not inconceivable thatTerminator 3will be his last hit movie.
The problem was that, without them, not enough people watch it.
Helmed by John McTiernan, just before hed go on and directDie Hard,Predatorremains a firm 80s favourite.
While Schwarzeneggers post-Predatorstory weve covered when talking aboutThe Terminatorabove, thePredatorfranchise has continued to splutter along.
Even the terribleAliens Vs Predator Requiembrought in $128m.
Important, but not vital, would seem to be the answer.
But after the second film, the pair departed the franchise, to differing fortunes.
The franchise pressed on anyway in the time-honoured prequel fashion, albeit it seemed with Beckinsale involved.
The box office is seemingly unaffected by it.
As for the stars themselves?
