In 1975, “Jaws” was released which is considered the first summer blockbuster because of its success. It was praised by critics and fans while also making $100 million at the box office. It was the first time a film was financially successful to that extent.

Over the next 30 years, things like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) popularized and solidified the idea of the modern franchise, an interconnected web of characters appearing in each other’s films while also creating spin-off stories based on popularity.

Similar properties like the “Harry Potter,” DC and “Star Wars” franchises have followed, leaving little room for original movies not part of a franchise.

“There’s magic in the movie theater experience, but that magic is enhanced when you don’t know what you’re walking into,” said local filmmaker Logan Payne. “Some of my favorite movie theater experiences are when I go see an original movie that I don’t really know what it’s about.”

Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” an original movie, opened No. 1 at the box office on April 18 and earned $48 million domestically and $63 million globally. The film beat out “A Minecraft Movie” and is the highest-grossing original movie since 2019, showing that original ideas can be successful.

Studios like A24 have thrived off original movies and concepts from filmmakers, which get people into theaters. In 2023, the studio won a collective 18 Oscar wins, including Best Picture for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

While these two stand-out films show the potential for success with original scripts, and people’s desire for more original movies, those kinds of projects have generally been disasters for studios.

Since 2020, the most financially successful movies have all been either sequels, spinoffs, remakes, a part of an established franchise or based on another property.

“That’s crazy,” Payne said. “These franchises are putting less and less effort into the final product and people are letting them get away.”

For example, films from the MCU have been getting more criticism from casual moviegoers, but those movies have still made over $30 billion since the release of “Avengers: Endgame,” proving to be one of Disney’s most successful properties.

Fall of the big season

During the COVID-19 pandemic, studios were moving towards a growing streaming service landscape, with studios like Warner Bros. moving “Wonder Woman 1984” to Max to still get their movie out to consumers while theaters took a hit.

Since then, studios and theaters have been making strides to ensure that people still go to the theaters to watch movies; at the same time, studios are taking fewer and fewer risks on original movies because the profit isn’t as big as a third sequel to an already successful franchise.

Audiences have control over what movies stay in theaters and for how long. A theater’s response to how long a film stays is linked to the money it gets.

When Payne worked at Maya Cinemas, he noticed that indie films or films that weren’t connected to another established property stayed in theaters for a week, but bigger superhero movies or big franchises got over a month in the theaters.

“I saw ‘The Zone of Interest‘ …during a saturday night showing. That’s prime time,” Payne said. “There were two people there and I think the amount of traction that these franchise films have, and the amount of money that the theaters will invest into them, is what really takes away from the independent voices.”

Finance in film

In the case of a movie like “Mickey 17,” the amount of money needed to make the film successful would be between $275 million and $300 million to be profitable, accounting for the $80 million for marketing.

“Mickey 17” only made $141 million globally, a financial disaster despite being well-reviewed by critics and casual moviegoers.

This kind of financial outcome could make studios afraid to take chances on original ideas, especially from young and upcoming filmmakers.

Instead, studios choose to rely on established properties to make money, like Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic animated films, most recently, “Snow White.” This leads to the cycle that leaves moviegoers with franchise fatigue.

Looking at awards like the Oscars, the films that get awarded are usually original scripts, or based on something that isn’t popular and doesn’t already have an existing following.

Movies like the 2024 Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer” and the 2021 Best Picture winner “Nomadland” are based on books but are not a part of a franchise or a remake, while the most recent Best Picture winner, “Anora,” isn’t based on anything and is an original script.

While these achievements offer a shred of hope for the industry, at the end of day movies succeed through sales and not awards. It’s up to audiences to make the change they want to see with their wallets, and make the effort to actually watch the original movies they claim to crave.

“When a filmmaker has the nerves to really try to do something original…I think we have to respect that,” Payne said.