Not “why do studios play it safe?”, that’s obvious; films are expensive to make and lose ridiculous amounts of money if they flop. It’s not something limited to cinema; countless Radio and TV shows have proven ridiculously enduring by sticking to the formula, “familiar characters/personalities doing familiar things in relatively new ways”. One interesting aspect of how we decided this is that we, and many other creatures, show a preference for both familiar things and novel things. Put simply, it argues that novel things are a more rewarding if we’re confident they are pleasurable or enjoyable in some way. Different things and situations cause different outcomes in the brain when it comes to familiarity and novelty preferences.

Source: The Guardian May 10, 2018 11:15 UTC