Star Dependency and Franchise Sustainability: How Over-Reliance on a Single Star Shapes Sequel Viability, Licensing Stability, and Audience Sentiment in Pirates of the Caribbean

D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, USA

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Abstract

This paper examines the issue of how relying on one star and one character to carry a film franchise affects the franchise’s capacity to follow up with sequels, retain the interest of the licensee, and the feelings of the audience in the long run, using the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as a focal point. There were two SPSS quantitative analyses. The former was a multiple linear regression of a cross-franchise sample of 35 movies in five major Hollywood franchises that tested whether star continuity was indicative of IMDb audience scores, controlling for production budget and release year. Findings indicated that star continuity has been the statistically significant predictor, and the model could explain 24.9 percent of the audience score variance. The second analysis was an interrupted time-series regression. The posttrial dummy variable yielded the negative coefficient in the anticipated direction. The results help conclude that star continuity is a significant factor of audience reception, yet reputational crises have complex, difficult-to-isolate effects that accumulate over time. They are suggested practical techniques to use in studios, such as diversification of character portfolios, contract management, and narrative soft reboots.