‘Back to the Future,’ ‘Toy Story’ top franchises people want more of

“Back to the Future” (1985)
Universal Pictures

• According to a new Morning Consult and Hollywood Reporter
  survey, “Back to the Future” is the film franchise that Americans
  would most likely watch another installment of, followed by “Toy
  Story.”
• “Back to the Future” was also the franchise that most people
  surveyed said they had seen every film of. By contrast, only 36%
  said they had seen every “Star Wars” movie.
• Other top franchises included “Indiana Jones,” “Jurassic
  Park,” and “Shrek.”

Audiences want to go “Back to the Future.”

According to a new Morning Consult and Hollywood Reporter survey,
that’s the film franchise that Americans most want to see a new
movie from. The survey polled 2,201 adults in the US, and 71% of
them said that they want to see Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly on
the big screen again.

The next top franchise was “Toy Story,” which 69% of people said
they’d likely watch another film from the series. The good news
for “Toy Story” fans is that the fourth film is coming to
theaters next year, and Pixar released the first teaser
trailer for it last week.

A new installment in the “Back to the Future” series from
Universal is less likely. Robert Zemeckis, the director of the
original 1980s trilogy, said in 2016, “There
will never, ever be, in the most absolutely way,
a ‘Back to the Future 4.’ There will be no
more Back to the Future.”

READ MORE: The new ‘Halloween’ movie used
nostalgia to dominate the box office

But in an age when everything from “Jumanji” to “Mary
Poppins” has been rebooted, anything can happen. “Back to the
Future” was also the franchise that the most people said they had
seen every installment of, at 54%. 

Other franchises that Americans want to see more of are
“Indiana Jones” (68%), which already includes four films;
“Jurassic Park” (67%), which includes five films; and “Shrek”
(65%), which includes four films. This suggests that audiences
haven’t gotten sick of long-lasting franchises, but it also
indicates that people are more eager to see the next installments
of franchises they haven’t seen in theaters in a
while. 

It’s been 28 years since “Back to the Future Part III” and
eight years since “Shrek Forever After.” It will be nine years
between “Toy Story 3” and “Toy Story 4,” and will be 13 years
between 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull” and when the next movie is released.

“Indiana Jones 5” was pushed back to 2021, which is also
when the next “Jurassic World” movie is expected to hit
theaters.

Nostalgia plays a large role in what audiences are willing
to see. Last month’s “Halloween” movie capitalized on
that, acting as a direct sequel to the 1978 original, with
Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie
Strode. 

Only 40% would want to see another “Twilight” movie,
according to the survey.

And surprisingly, only 36% of those surveyed said they had
seen all 10 “Star Wars” films.