Media franchise (fiction)

A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game.
The subject is most commonly addressed in reference to fictional universes that differ markedly from the real world, such as those that introduce entire fictional cities, countries, or even planets, or those that contradict commonly known facts about the world and its history, or those that feature fantasy or science fiction concepts such as magic or faster than light travel—and especially those in which the deliberate development of the setting is a substantial focus of the work. When a large franchise of related works has two or more somewhat different fictional universes that are each internally consistent but not consistent with each other (such as a distinct plotline and set of characters in a comics version versus a television adaptation), each universe is often referred to as a continuity, though the term continuity as a mass noun usually has a broader meaning in fiction.
The order across more than one medium. For the owners, the goal of increasing profit through diversity can extend the commercial profitability of the franchise and create strong feelings of identity and ownership in its consumers (fandom). Espen Aarseth describes the financial logic of cost-recovery for expensive productions by identifying that a single medium launch is a lost opportunity, the timeliness of the production and release is more important than its integrity, the releases should raise brand awareness and the cross-ability of the work is critical for its success. American Idol was a transmedia franchise from its beginnings, with the first season winner Kelly Clarkson signing with RCA Records and having the release of A Moment Like This becoming a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100. The success resulted in a nationwide concert tour, an American Idol book that made the bestseller list and the film From Justin to Kelly. A transmedia franchise however is often referred to by the simpler term "media franchise." The term media franchise is often used to describe the popular adaptation of a work into films, like the popular Twilight book series that was adapted into the five films of The Twilight Saga. Other neologisms exist to describe various franchise types including metaseries, which can be used to describe works such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.Palumbo, Donald. "Asimov's Crusade Against Bigotry: The Persistence Of Prejudice as a Fractal Motif in the Robot/Empire Foundation Metaseries." JOURNAL OF THE FANTASTIC IN THE ARTS 10 (1998): 43-63.
Multimedia franchises usually develop through a character or fictional world becoming popular in one medium, and then expanding to others through licensing agreements, with respect to intellectual property in the franchise's characters and settings. As one author explains, "For the studios, a home-run is a film from which a multimedia 'franchise' can be generated; the colossally expensive creation of cross-media conglomerates predicated on synergistic rewards provides an obvious imperative to develop such products."Barry Langford, Post-classical Hollywood: Film Industry, Style and Ideology Since 1945, p. 207, . The Steve Jobs, Harry Donenfeld, Charles Thorson and Bob Givens trend later developed wherein franchises would be launched in multiple forms of media simultaneously; for instance, the film The Matrix Reloaded and the video game Enter the Matrix were produced at the same time, using the same actors on the same sets, and released on the same day. Several other franchises throughout the 2000s had films and games release within days of each other, including King Kong, Star Wars, Harry Potter, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Transformers.Harry J. Brown, Videogames and Education (2008), p. 41, .
==Development to other forms==
===Fiction===
Long-running franchises were common in the early studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. Examples include Andy Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Marilyn Monroe, Bulldog Drummond, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Tarzan, and Batman. The longest-running modern film franchises include James Bond, Godzilla and King Kong, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Universal Monsters, and Star Trek. In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed.
Media franchises tend to cross over from their original media to other forms. Literary franchises are often transported to film, such as Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, and other popular detectives, as well as popular comic book superheroes. Television and film franchises are often expanded upon in novels, particularly those in the fantasy and science fiction genres, such as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Disney (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story and Characters of Pixar), DC Comics (Superman and Batman), Marvel Comics (Spider-Man and Characters of Marvel), Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera (Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and Characters of Hanna-Barbera) and Star Wars (apart from feature length original character Darth Vader). Similarly, fantasy, science fiction films and television shows are frequently adapted into animated television series, video games, or both.
A media franchise does not have to include the same characters or theme, as the brand identity can be the franchise, like Square Enix's Final Fantasy or the National Lampoon series, and can suffer from critical failures even if the media fictional material is unrelated.
===Non-fiction===
Non-fiction literary franchises include the ...For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to... reference books. An enduring and comprehensive example of a media franchise is Playboy Enterprises, which began expanding well beyond its successful magazine, Playboy, within a few years after its first publication, into such enterprises as a modeling agency, several television shows (Playboy's Penthouse, in 1959), and even its own television channel. Twenty-five years later, Playboy released private clubs and restaurants, movie theaters, a radio show, direct to video films, music and book publishing (including original works in addition to its anthologies of cartoons, photographs, recipes, advice, articles or fiction that had originally appeared in the magazine), footwear, clothing of every kind, jewelry, housewares (lamps, clocks, bedding, glassware), guitars and gambling, playing cards, pinball machines and pet accessories, billiard balls, bedroom appurtenances, enhancements, plus countless other items of merchandise.
==See also==
*Lists of multimedia franchises
**List of highest-grossing media franchises
*Media mix
*Media convergence
*Film series
**List of highest-grossing films
*Prequel
*Sequel
*Spin-off (media)
*Spiritual sequel
*Standalone film
*List of television show franchises
*Tie-in
*Transmedia storytelling
*Transmediation
*Trilogy
*List of video game franchises
**List of best-selling video game franchises
**List of longest-running video game franchises
*List of space science fiction franchises
==References==
==External links==
* Slate: "The Midas Formula (How to create a billion-dollar movie franchise)"
* Box Office Mojo: Film franchise earning comparison
 
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Category:Western culture
Franchise