Only three of the 20 highest-grossing domestic releases of 2025 weren’t based on some sort of existing franchise, whether it was a previous film, a comic book, or (in the case of F1: The Movie) a popular motorsport league. That’s up from two in 2024, so I guess an optimist would call that progress.

The three outliers holding the torch for original cinema are Sinners, Weapons, and The Housemaid (which was based on a book, to be fair, but it’s not exactly The Fantastic Four). Let’s celebrate the horror genre for putting butts in seats for new material.

I managed to miss the three top-grossing movies of last year: A Minecraft Movie, the live-action Lilo & Stitch, and Zootopia 2. I will catch up with Zootopia 2 when it hits streaming — it’s currently the only Disney Animation film I haven’t seen. The other two… no so much.

In fourth place is James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, and while I wish such a talented director wasn’t dedicating his golden years to this one franchise, I can’t deny that these movies are exhilarating and visually breathtaking. This is the sort of thing I want from blockbuster cinema, not some glossy video game adaptation or a dull live-action remake of an animated classic.

Rounding out the top five is James Gunn’s Superman, which had its share of tired comic book movie excess, but also had real heart and a winning sense of humor. David Corenswet was an inspired choice as Superman, and he won me over by basically playing him as Clark Kent both in and out of the suit.

The rest of the top 20 is forgettable slop, with the exception of the clever, funny Final Destination: Bloodlines, which is among the best installments of that franchise.

Here’s hoping 2026 finds more original films among the biggest moneymakers. Sam Raimi’s Send Help is off to a nice start, and I’ll be rooting for that one, along with Gore Verbinski’s excellent Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.