CULTURE ON REPEAT
FILMS AND SNEAKERS ARE STUCK IN THE SAME LOOP
ORIGINALITY IS OUT. NOSTALGIA SELLS.
In 2024, the biggest films and the biggest sneakers shared one thing: they weren’t new. They were reboots, sequels, retro colourways, and vintage silhouettes.
From Inside Out 2 dominating the box office to yet another Air Jordan 3 making Complex’s sneaker of the year list, one thing is clear, culture has entered a remix phase. We’re not building forward anymore; we’re looping back, polishing up the past and reselling it as fresh.
HOLLYWOOD’S ADDICTION TO FAMILIARITY
Look at the top-grossing films of 2024:
Inside Out 2 – $1.7 billion
Deadpool & Wolverine – $1.3 billion
Moana 2 – $1.06 billion
Despicable Me 4 – $971 million
Wicked – $752 million
Every single one? A sequel, a reboot, or part of an existing universe. Original stories are becoming unicorns; rare, risky, and often buried by the algorithm. The logic is simple: if people loved it once, they’ll probably pay to see it again.
It’s nostalgia, commercialised. Emotion, monetised.
SNEAKERS: SAME GAME, DIFFERENT SOLE
Sneaker culture in 2024 looked eerily similar. Complex’s list of best sneakers of the year included:
Air Jordan 3 – Black Cement (Retro)
Air Jordan 4 – Bred Reimagined
Wu-Tang x Nike Dunk High (Retro)
With previous sneakers of the year list having at least one retro or reimagined version of a historic sneaker, and with sneakers that have recently released such as Columbia Jordan 11s, Linen Air Force 1s (one as a retro and one as a reimagined), and Undefeated Jordan 4s on the horizon, sneakers are falling for the same culture trap.
New silhouettes? Barely visible. Risky concepts? Rare.
The sneaker game, much like film, is safer when it sells familiarity.
THE FORMULA WORKS, UNTIL IT DOESN’T
There’s a reason this remix culture dominates, it works.
It’s a proven formula.
Studios and sneaker brands aren’t just playing it safe they’re playing it smart. Reboots and retros are bankable. They come with built-in fanbases, emotional equity, and global recognition. Marketing becomes easier when the audience already knows the story or silhouette.
Why risk launching something unproven when Moana 2 can break a billion and a Jordan 4 can sell out in seconds?
This approach has powered bottom lines for years.
For film studios, it means higher opening weekends, streaming spin-offs, and cross-platform franchises.
For sneaker brands, it means hype, resale buzz, and instant cultural clout.
Familiarity sells. Until it starts to feel stale.
CRACKS IN THE SYSTEM
But the cracks are showing.
Sequels are hitting diminishing returns, critically, if not commercially.
Sneaker drops once met with excitement now draw shrugs. How many times can you reimagine the Bred 4 before it loses its punch?
Consumers, especially younger ones, are starting to look elsewhere.
In film, that’s indie studios like A24 or foreign films that bring fresh voices.
In footwear, that’s the rise of Dad shoes such as New Balance and ASCICs which is vastly different to the retro Jordans
The audience wants more than comfort food.
They want risk. They want originality. They want the next what’s next.
WHAT’S NEXT: LOOKING FORWARD, NOT BACK
To move forward, both industries need to recalibrate.
That doesn’t mean killing nostalgia, it means balancing it.
More innovation: Not just tech innovation in sneakers, but aesthetic and conceptual innovation too.
More new franchises: films that don’t rely on familiar IP but build new worlds, new heroes, and new stories.
More bravery: to bet on fresh ideas and creators who bring something different to the table.
This is how you future-proof culture.
Nike did it once when they added air to a sole of a sneaker.
Pixar did it when it gave us Inside Out, the first time.
There’s a place for retros, sequels, and callbacks. But when everything is looking backward, who’s building forward?
FINAL THOUGHT
Culture doesn’t grow by pressing rewind. It grows by hitting record.
In a moment where everything feels like a remix, the boldest move is to do something original.
That’s how you stand out. That’s how you create legacy.
Not by repeating history, but by making it.
