Summary
The Lego Moviefranchise is a billion-dollar property with more than a few blockbuster movies under its belt, so why is it not a thriving cinematic universe? When a film adaptation of the Lego construction toys was first announced, it seemed to be a Hollywood cash grab likeThe Angry Birds Movie, using the power of cinema to advertise a product and generate some corporate synergy. But Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ended up delivering a surprisingly great movie.The Lego Movieis emotional, hilarious, and wildly entertaining, layering its blatant product placement with rich stories and characters.
When it hit theaters in 2014,The Lego Movieearned universally positive reviews from critics – scoring a near-perfect approval rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes – and became a blockbuster success at the box office. It seemed like the sky was the limit for this new franchise. Not only couldThe Lego Moviebe followed up with sequels in the mainline saga; it could be spun off into movies based on specific Lego toy lines and licensed brands. So, why isThe Lego Moviecurrently dead in the water and not a thriving blockbuster franchise?
The Lego Movie Grossed $467 Million And Launched A Franchise
The Lego Movie was quickly followed by a sequel and two spinoffs
The Lego Moviemight not have cracked the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2014, but it still made a very respectable global box office gross.The Lego Moviepulled in a worldwide box office haul of $467,576,428 on a budget of $60 million(viaThe Numbers). The general rule of thumb is that movies need to gross around 2.5 times their production budget in order to turn a profit.The Lego Moviegrossed 7.8 times its budget, so it was way, way in the black. Hollywood has jumped on board a potential franchise for a lot less.
Man of Steeldidn’t have that kind of multiplier and Warner Bros. followed it up with the doomed DC Extended Universe. Naturally,The Lego Movie’s success launched a franchise. It was followed by a direct sequel,The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, as well as two spinoff films,The Lego Batman MovieandThe Lego Ninjago Movie.All four of these Lego moviesdid well at the box office (with two minor disappointments), but the franchise hasn’t released a new film in five years. So, what happened to this once-flourishing franchise?
The Lego Batman Movie Capitalized On The Franchise’s Most Popular Character
A Batman-centric spinoff was a very wise move
While Chris Pratt’s Emmet Brickowski, Will Ferrell’s Lord Business, and Elizabeth Banks’ Wyldstyle were all well-received, their popularity was nothing compared toThe Lego Movie’s most beloved character. Will Arnett stole the show as a self-parodying Lego version of Batman. It was a really wise move for Warner Bros. to follow upThe Lego Moviewith a Batman-centric spinoff entitledThe Lego Batman Moviein 2017. This capitalized on the original film’s most popular character (who also happens to be one of the most recognizable icons in pop culture) – and it was a really great movie.
Despite its huge potential for disappointment,The Lego Batman Movieemerged as not only a worthy successor toThe Lego Movie, but one of the best Batman movies.The Lego Batman Movieis great, because it satirizes the Batman mythos while still telling a genuinely moving story about Bruce Wayne’s deep-seated loneliness.The Lego Batman Movieearned a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score and replicated its predecessor’s box office success. It didn’t quite gross as much asThe Lego Movie, butit earned $310,563,096 on an $80 million budget(viaThe Numbers), which is pretty impressive.
The Lego Ninjago Movie Was A Strange Move For The Series After Batman
The Lego Movie franchise’s winning streak ended fast with The Lego Ninjago Movie
After the back-to-back success ofThe Lego MovieandThe Lego Batman Movie, the franchise suffered its first box office bomb withThe Lego Ninjago Movie, later in 2017.The Lego Ninjago Moviegrossed just $122,737,201 on its $70 million budget(viaThe Numbers). This wasn’t a total disaster – it did make back its production costs and some of its marketing costs – but compared to the blockbuster success of the previous two films, it was a pretty notable flop. The underperformance ofThe Lego Ninjago MovieendedThe Lego Moviefranchise’s winning streak fast.
It was an odd choice to follow up the first twoLego Movieinstallments with aLego Ninjagofilm.Ninjagomight be one of Lego’s flagship brands and most popular toy lines, but its fan base doesn’t extend beyond the toys themselves. Whereas Batman appeals to audiences of all ages, even people who have never picked up a Lego brick in their lives,Ninjagoonly appeals to fans of those martial arts-themed Lego kits. It might be a big enough consumer base to make a toy line profitable, but it’s not big enough to make a mega-budget movie a hit.
The Lego Movie 2’s Box Office Killed The Franchise As We Knew It
Even a direct sequel to The Lego Movie couldn’t save the franchise
In 2019,The Lego Moviefranchise returned with a direct sequel to the original film calledThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Bringing back Pratt and Banks and Arnett fora proper sequel toThe Lego Movieshould’ve been enough to course-correct the franchise after the failure ofThe Lego Ninjago Movie, butThe Lego Movie 2was a box office bomb, too. Itcost $99 millionto produce, making it the most expensive film in the franchise, but it onlygrossed $190,131,035at the worldwide box office (viaThe Numbers).
The Lego Movie 2came out around the same time asCaptain MarvelandHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which were both huge hits that took more than their fair share of the family audience. After the box office disappointment ofThe Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Warner Bros. chose not to renew its contract for the movie and TV rights to the Lego brand. The I.P. has now found a home with a different studio, Universal, where executives are hoping to revitalize the franchise.
The Lego Movie 3 Is Happening, But It Will Be Very Different
Universal is hoping to jumpstart The Lego Movie franchise
Since Universal acquired the film and television rights to the Lego brand,The Lego Movie 3is in the works. But it won’t be a straightforward threequel following on from the previous films. Universal is hoping to reinvent the franchise, which could mean starting fresh with a reboot introducing new characters and a new story. The next iteration ofThe Lego Movielikely won’t be able to use Warners’ prized property, Batman, but it will allow Lego versions of Universal properties likeJurassic ParkandFast & Furious.
The Lego Movie
Cast
The first film in the Lego movie franchise, 2014’s The Lego Movie tells the story of Emmett Brickowski (Chris Pratt), an average construction worker from the Lego city of Bricksburg. After finding the fabled “Piece of Resistance”, Emmett finds himself opposing the plans of the villainous Lord Business (Will Ferrell) with the help of both original characters and licensed ones such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
