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‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ confirms the harsh reality of current cinema: the public no longer wants to see original films

Disney's dead end: why its live-action remakes will have a very short life

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ arrives on the big screen, the prequel to the very popular live-action remake (well, let’s leave it as a realistic animated remake) of that ‘The Lion King’, which triumphed in 2019, becoming the most successful of all the experiments of this type that Disney had carried out. The arrival of this prequel, in addition to guaranteeing a success comparable to that of its predecessor, raises some questions about the originality of the latest releases and the options that the public has before them.

Numbers. ‘The Lion King’ can boast a budget of around 260 million dollars, and a collection of 1,657 million worldwide. Some numbers that are dizzying for a film that is currently ranked 10th in the highest grossing movies in history. It is only overshadowed (within this vein that Disney discovered with ‘Alice in Wonderland’) ‘Beauty and the Beast’, which with 1,266 million in revenue is ranked 25th on the same list.

Forecasts to roar. ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’, as it could not be otherwise, aspires to equalor at least, measure yourself with those figures. To do this, you need a good initial weekend, and the forecasts point about $66 million in revenue in the US alone, which undoubtedly puts it in a good position. Of course, better than those of its main rival this holiday, ‘Sonic 3’, which in turn aims to about 50 million on its first weekend.

More of the same. However, ‘Mufasa’ is one more example of a trend that we are experiencing in recent times and that we already talked about a few weeks ago, when we noted that the ten highest-grossing films of the year were all sequels (with a rare avis, ‘ Wicked’, which is not strictly a sequel, but not an original production either). Although it remains to be seen if ‘Mufasa’ has time to sneak into that top, it is clear that it is part of an indisputable trend: people do not want to go see original products.

To be reviewed. Hollywood has to look at its own productions and analyze this problem. Because it’s a problem: drawing on previous successes without generating new ones that do not look to the past can end up taking its toll. The new blood is necessary to renew audiences and stories. In other words, to what extent can adults who watched the original Disney movies as children take their children to see new versions of their hits? How many different stories can the Sonic franchise (which has just confirmed its fourth installment) tell before it becomes clear that, as fun as his movies are, he is still a character with only one trick up his sleeve?

The twisted path to a sequel. To understand the extent of the derivative situation that Hollywood finds itself in, you only have to look at the true nature of ‘Mufasa’. It is the prequel to a film that is not original, but rather the live-action or realistic animation version of another previous animated feature film from 1994 (whose originality can also be questioned, but hey, let’s stop here). ‘Mufasa’, furthermore, is not exactly a prequel, since it also has scenes that take place after the original film. A hodgepodge of timelines, but none concerned with proposing exactly what is most needed in the mainstream current: a breath of fresh air.

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