Which Movies Are Successful? The Sequels We Know (Doesn’t Matter If They’re Any Good)

“When it comes to summer blockbusters, more important than actual content is audience familiarity. Summer theatergoers don’t care what the New York Times (or SlashFilm, or us) has to say about the latest Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay film: These tent-pole sequels are summer staples specifically because so much money has been poured into them to generate mass audience appeal.”