With the release of the new “Hunger Games” movie, it is becoming more and more common for movie franchises to split their last movie into two separate parts. Some movie-goers enjoy this, while others think it’s annoying, but the question remains: why is it suddenly becoming so popular? First “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” then “Twilight: Breaking Dawn.” Here are the reasons why so many movie producers are splitting their movies in half.
1. Content
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books increased in size as the series went on, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ending up around 750 pages. With stories that have that much detail, dialogue, and action, it’s understandable to split the movie version into two parts in order to capture everything. According to Matt Singer, “[Harry Potter fans] wanted to see everything; every character and set-piece, every bit of dialogue and plot twist.” If something was missing, they would have understandably been disappointed. (Peeves or Winky, anyone?)
2. Anticipation
In almost every case, the first half of these two-part movies ends with a cliff hanger, leaving audiences with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Some people enjoy anticipating what the next movie will be like and will wait to see the midnight premier.
3. Money
Of course, movies are made to produce money, and extending a popular movie franchise into even more parts results in more tickets being sold and more income for the franchise. With the success of the Harry Potter split, even more movies are following suit.
So what other movies can you expect to see being split? The final “Divergent” film, “Allegiant,” will be split in two. So will the last “Avengers” movie. If you like going to the movies, you can be glad, because this trend will certainly continue.
