Case Study: King Kong

King Kong is one of the most remade films of all time and also one of the most expensive remakes ever[1]. King Kong[2] was an epic film when it was first made in 1933. The Chicago Tribune called it "one of the most original, thrilling and mammoth novelties to emerge from a movie studio”[3]. 

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/king-kong-gif

The 1976 version[4] with Jessica Lange was the fifth highest grossing movie of the year and ultimately kick-started her career. The film received mostly mixed reviews; according to Entertainment Tonight's Leonard Maltin, the film "...has great potential; yet it dispels all the mythic, larger-than-life qualities of the original with idiotic characters and campy approach”[5]. 

http://citystompers.com/post/126435537411/king-kong-1976

The 2005 remake[6] with Naomi Watts was made for a cool $207 million and reaped a few million with a worldwide gross of $331,136,767. Reviews were mostly positive, Entertainment Weekly called the depiction of Kong the most convincing computer-generated character in film in 2005[7]. 

http://gif2fly.com/King%20Kong.html

However, a few people in the questionnaire made comments about King Kong and they were very mixed. One person said that “the new King Kong was the worst parts of Hollywood mixed together” but two respondents thought it was better than the original. 

Kong: Skull Island[8] is also in the works and to be released in 2017 with various star vehicles such as Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson, it is sure to make serious box office.

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[1] Sandra Faleris. (2014). The 10 Most Expensive Film Remakes. Available: http://www.therichest.com/luxury/most-expensive/the-10-most-expensive-film-remakes/?view=all. Last accessed 12th March 2016.

[2] King Kong (Cooper and Schoedsack, 1933)

[3] “Monster Ape Packs Thrills in New Talkie”. Chicago Tribune (Chicago: Tribune Publishing): Part 7, p. 8. April 23, 1933.

[4] King Kong (Guillermin, 1976)

[5] "King Kong (1976)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13-03-2016.

[6] King Kong (Jackson, 2005)

[7] "Our 10 Favorite CG Characters". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13-03-2016.

[8] Kong: Skull Island (Vogt-Roberts, 2017)