In another year of sequels, prequels, threequels, reboots, remakes, book adaptations, TV adaptations, true story adaptations, video game adaptations and more – you might ask: Where’s the Originality?
According to Box Office Mojo, 10 completely original films are among the Top 42 highest grossing movies of 2018 so far, though only one is in the Top 20. They are:
1. “A Quiet Place” – $188 million
John Krasinski’s suspense thriller was an audience favorite this spring.
2. “Game Night” $69 million
WB’s dark comedy built-up a bit of a following in the winter.
3. “Book Club” $68.6 million
The legendary all-star cast brought-in older audiences early on in the summer.
4. “Skyscraper” $67.6 million
Dwayne Johnson’s second 2018 release received mixed reviews and wasn’t as big a moneymaker as “Rampage”.
5. “Blockers” $60.2 million
This R-rated prom-com (Prom Comedy) saw the John Cena and 20-year-olds crowd in April.
6. “Life of the Party” $52.9 million
I bet Melissa McCarthy and husband Ben Falcone were expecting a bigger take than this for their college comedy, especially with a PG-13 rating.
7. “I Feel Pretty” $48.8 million
Amy Schumer’s latest is now the top-grossing non-“Bad Moms” movie for studio STX.
8. “Breaking In” $46.5 million
This thriller with Gabrielle Union captured audiences over Mother’s Day weekend but quietly faded into the night.
9. “Den of Thieves” $45 million
Gerard Butler seems to be the B-level action movie king these days.
10. “Hereditary” $44.1 million
This Toni Collette thriller is A24’s second-biggest film in the U.S. to date, behind “Lady Bird”.
So what’s on the horizon? Are we going to see any more original content before the end of the year? Well, there are actually a few “original” concepts that will be presented to all of us in the coming weeks. “This is Us” creator Dan Fogelman’s “Life Itself” opens on Sept. 21, and WB’s animated “Smallfoot” and Universal’s Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish comedy “Night School” hit theaters on the 28th.