What Should Hollywood Remake Next?

THE NEXT MARTY MCFLY?

We suggest Emma Stone of Birdman fame. Her goofy charm would transform Michael J. Fox’s skateboarding hero into a relatable modern-day heroine

[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

MORE LIKELYLYL

GENRE

SOURCE MATERIAL

RELEASE TIME

FEMALE LEAD

SUBJECT MATTER

CRITICAL SUCCESS

KID FRIENDLY

BACK TO THE FUTURE 1985

Adventure

Original

Summer

No

The future

96%

Yes

FIELD OF DREAMS 1989

Drama

Book

Summer

No

Baseball

87%

Yes

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 1975

Comedy

Musical

Summer

Yes

Deviance

79%

No

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991

Horror/thriller

Book

Winter

Yes

Cannibalism

94%

No

FATAL ATTRACTION 1987

Thriller

TV movie

Fall

Yes

Obsession

78%

No

THE PRINCESS BRIDE 1987

Adventure

Book

Fall

No

Romance

97%

Yes

WHEN HARRYMET SALLY 1989

Comedy

Original

Summer

Yes

Relationships

88%

No

MASH 1970

Comedy

Book

Spring

No

War

87%

No

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS 1988

Comedy

Film

Winter

No

Cons

88%

No

LETHAL WEAPON 1987

Action

Original

Spring

No

Crime

84%

No

LESS LIKELY

SOURCES: LIST OF HOLLYWOOD REMAKES RELEASED AFTER 2000 COMPILED FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO; CRITICS’ RATINGS AND CAST DATA COMPILED FROM IMDB, ROTTEN TOMATOES AND SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

GENRE

Horror is Hollywood’s favorite genre to remake: 1 in 4 remakes are slasher flicks

SOURCE

Box-office hits Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Planet of the Apes (2001) were both based on books

RELEASE

Summer movies are remade twice as often as movies released during other seasons

LEAD

Women hold lead roles in six of the 10 most successful remakes with critics, despite playing only 12% of movie protagonists

SUBJECT

Futuristic films like I Am Legend (2007) have been some of the biggest box-office earners since 2000

REVIEWS

Remaking a critical hit is risky business–only 11 remakes since 2000 have higher critics’ ratings than their originals

AUDIENCE