Over the history of cinema, some films have been split into multiple parts. This has been done for creative, practical, and financial reasons. Originally done in the form of low-budget serial films, more recently it has often been done with big-budget feature films.
Early examples were serials, which were produced in chapters of 10–30 minutes each, and presented in theaters one each week as a prelude to feature films on the same ticket. With each episode typically ending in a cliffhanger, they encouraged regular attendance at the cinema, and the short running length kept down the cost of each installment, and the number of reels needed to show them.
Later feature films would be produced with a similar strategy in mind, deliberately setting up plot developments to be developed in subsequent features. When the initial film has been highly successful, additional installments may be produced concurrently, taking advantage of economies of scale and the availability of actors and directors to facilitate production. (e.g. The Matrix , Back to the Future )
A common reason for splitting a film has been to accommodate an extended running time; many people would find it uncomfortable to sit for a single three- or four-hour presentation. Some films have addressed this by adopting a practice typical in stage theater: having an intermission at the approximate midpoint of the film, during which members of the audience can stand and walk around, use the restroom if needed, or get a snack or refill their beverage at the concession stand. (e.g. Gandhi , Gods and Generals ) Other directors have instead split the film into separate releases. (e.g. Kill Bill )
In the 21st century, it became increasingly common for big-budget films – usually those based on novels which might otherwise have to be substantially condensed, but especially the last in a series – to be released as multiple features. The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was one of the first to do so with the final book in a series, a pattern followed by the Twilight , The Hunger Games , and Divergent series. Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Hobbit – a final follow-up to his The Lord of the Rings series – was released as three separate features. [1]
In many cases, the process of splitting films has been criticized, citing financial motivations in turning successful books into longer film series. [1] The Australian Broadcasting Corporation called it "a recent Hollywood trend of splitting a single book into multiple movies to maximise box office returns from blockbuster franchises". [2] The Hobbit proved particularly controversial because the running time was the result of adding material that was not part of the original book. [3] Studios have countered that one reason for splitting novels from series like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games into multiple films is to appease fans who do not want the film series to end. [4]
Naoko Takeuchi is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the author of Sailor Moon, one of the most popular manga series of all time.
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters, along with several side stories, were compiled in 18 volumes. The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal". She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers, called Sailor Guardians in later editions, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is a Japanese anime television series created by Be-Papas, a production group formed by director Kunihiko Ikuhara and composed of himself, Chiho Saito, Shinya Hasegawa, Yōji Enokido and Yūichirō Oguro. The series was produced by J.C.Staff and originally aired on TV Tokyo from April to December 1997. Revolutionary Girl Utena follows Utena Tenjou, a teenaged girl who is drawn into a sword dueling tournament to win the hand of Anthy Himemiya, a mysterious girl known as the "Rose Bride" who possesses the "power to revolutionize the world".
Type-Moon is a Japanese video game company, best known for their visual novels, co-founded by author Kinoko Nasu and illustrator Takashi Takeuchi. It is also known under the name Notes Co., Ltd. for its publishing and corporate operations, as it is the company official name, while Type-Moon is a brand name as a homage to the original doujin group. After creating the popular visual novel Tsukihime as a doujin soft circle, Type-Moon has since incorporated and produced the even more popular visual novel Fate/stay night, which became its most well-known title. Both series have also been adapted into anime and manga series that have amassed a global fanbase.
Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio is based in Culver City, California. Most of the studio's films are distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Columbia Pictures label, while direct-to-video releases are released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Sailor Moon, originally released in Japan as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, is a Japanese superhero anime television series produced by Toei Animation using Super Sentai motifs. It is based on the manga of the same title written by Naoko Takeuchi that was published from 1991 to 1997 in Nakayoshi. Sailor Moon first aired in Japan on TV Asahi from March 7, 1992, to February 8, 1997, and was dubbed for release in various regions around the world, including North America, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Australia, Europe, and Latin America.
Philip Anderson Lord and Christopher Robert Miller are American filmmakers. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High, and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014).
Veronica Anne Roth is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her bestselling Divergent trilogy which has sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.
J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, have been the subject of numerous motion picture adaptations across film and television.
Sailor Moon Crystal, known in Japan as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, is a Japanese anime series based on the shōjo manga series Sailor Moon written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, produced in commemoration of the original series' 20th anniversary. Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Munehisa Sakai and Chiaki Kon, the series was streamed worldwide on Niconico from July 5, 2014, to July 18, 2015. Season 1 and 2's episodes were released twice a month. Instead of remaking the 1990s anime series preceding it, Toei Animation produced Crystal as a reboot of Sailor Moon and as a more faithful adaptation of the original manga by omitting much of the original material from the first series. The story focuses on Usagi Tsukino, who is a young girl that obtains the power to become the titular character. Other Sailor Guardians join her in the search for Princess Serenity and the Silver Crystal.
Divergent is a series of young adult science fiction adventure novels by American novelist Veronica Roth set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian Chicago. The trilogy consists of Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), and Allegiant (2013). A related book, Four (2014), presents a series of short stories told from the perspective of one of the trilogy's characters, the male love interest Tobias. A later short story, We Can Be Mended (2018), serves as an epilogue five years after the events of the trilogy, again from Tobias/Four's perspective.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant is a 2016 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Robert Schwentke with a screenplay by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, and Noah Oppenheim, and the third and final film in The Divergent Series. It was set to be the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2013 novel Allegiant of the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.
The Divergent Series is an American dystopian science fiction action film series based on the Divergent novels by the American author Veronica Roth. Distributed by Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate Films, the series set in a dystopian society: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. They have been produced by Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian, and Douglas Wick.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the first animated film in the Spider-Man franchise and the first film in the Spider-Verse franchise, which is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the "Spider-Verse". Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman from a screenplay by Phil Lord and Rothman, it stars Shameik Moore as Morales, alongside the voices of Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber. The film's story follows Miles as he becomes the new Spider-Man and joins other Spider-People from various parallel universes who team up to save New York City from the Kingpin.
Takuya Yamashiro, also known as Spider-Man and colloquially as the "Japanese Spider-Man", is a superhero portrayed by Kōsuke Kayama based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. He is the protagonist of Toei's 1978 Spider-Man television series, subsequently reappearing as a supporting character in the 2014–2015 Spider-Verse and 2018 Spider-Geddon comic storylines. The success of Yamashiro and his giant mecha robot Leopardon made Toei adapt the concept to their Super Sentai franchise in Battle Fever J, ultimately making the character the narrative forefather of the Power Rangers.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a 2023 American animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and the second film in the Spider-Verse franchise, which is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the "Spider-Verse". The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin. K. Thompson and written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, who both also produce, and David Callaham. Shameik Moore voices Miles, starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, and Oscar Isaac. In the film, Miles goes on an adventure with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman (Steinfeld) across the multiverse, where he meets a team of Spider-People led by Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099 (Isaac) known as the Spider-Society, but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat in the form of the Spot (Schwartzman).
Schell Bullet is a series by Kunihiko Ikuhara. It is composed of a two-volume novel by Ikuhara with artwork by Mamoru Nagano, and Schell Bullet: Thanaphs 68, a concept album composed by Tenpei Sato with vocals from Ikuhara and Maria Kawamura.
Sailor Moon Eternal is a 2021 Japanese two-part animated action fantasy film directed by Chiaki Kon and written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu based on the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon manga by Naoko Takeuchi, who also serves as a chief supervisor. Co-produced by Toei Animation and Studio Deen and distributed by Toei Company, Eternal is a direct continuation and a "fourth season" for the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series. The two-part film stars Kotono Mitsuishi as the voice of Sailor Moon alongside Hisako Kanemoto, Rina Satō, Ami Koshimizu, Shizuka Itō, Misato Fukuen, Kenji Nojima, Junko Minagawa, Sayaka Ohara, Ai Maeda, Yukiyo Fujii, Ryō Hirohashi, Taishi Murata, Shoko Nakagawa, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Naomi Watanabe, and Nanao. Eternal was released in Japan in 2021, with the first film on January 8, and the second film on February 11.