The children of the night

Often they get worse. Occasionally the second is better than the first but then the third drops off. But how many get better as they go?

The Wolverine trilogy is one that comes to mind for me. Logan is by far the superior film and The Wolverine was a step up from origins.

Lord of the rings could also fit the bill but they’re all so damn good so I wouldn’t count that. I also see it as 1 big movie.

I roll my eyes every time an actor, director or studio executive talks about how we need to "save the film industry" and how audiences need to help by going out and supporting new films whenever they can. It's not the audience's fault that less people are going to movies - it's the industries fault and they've gotten away with shifting the blame for way too long. If film studios actually cared about getting butts in seats, they'd be pouring money into the movie theatre experience to make it enjoyable again. Nobody wants to drop $25 on a movie ticket, $20 on popcorn and a drink, sit through 45 minutes of ads and then struggle through a film while people are on their phones and talking all while staying home and watching for free is an option. I only go to my local independent theatre because it's more affordable and generally has an older, more respectful audience. Recent footage from the Minecraft movie screenings might have turned me off of blockbusters at multiplex's for good, after years of frustrating experiences that left me feeling ripped off.

Theatres should have staff in each screening to remind and warn unruly audience members of the rules, as well as security staff to remove them when they are ruining the experience for others. They should stop marking up popcorn and soft drinks - two of the cheapest things on earth - by over a hundred times its value. That's the way you actually save movie theatres, and so far the film industry has taken zero steps to do so. They don't want to save the magic of the movies, they just want to keep making as much money as they used to make.

Edit: the comments are overwhelmingly from Americans sharing their experiences. I'm happy/sorry for whatever your experience is with movies recently, but I'm not American, so there's obviously some differences between our experiences. Yes those are the ticket prices and yes that's how long ads run where I'm from. No there's no Alamo drafthouse to go to. I understand how business works, I'm making a point about how studios blame the audience for theatres failing, rather than themselves. Finally, even if you personally haven't experienced the issues I've mentioned, most of us have.