The state of the film industry had left me wondering, what happened to the way things used to be? What happened to going to the cinema on a Saturday night and struggling to choose between the five new movies that were released that weekend, all from different filmmakers, studios, actors, all in different genres?

Nowadays, the landscape is totally different. 

Per Box Office Mojo, in 2009 the 10 highest grossing movies at the domestic box office featured five original films, and five films based on an existing Intellectual Property (IP). Nine films in the current top 10 are based on existing IP, and the only one that isn’t is a bio-pic about arguably the most famous musician of all time. 

Gone is the balance of having “Up,” “The Hangover” and “The Hurt Locker,” three original films of completely different genres in theaters at the same time. Now, we must go to the theater and choose between the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, the MCU film released 2 months ago, and the third Harry Potter prequel. Love it or hate it, the MCU issued out the art of film being consumed on a mass scale, in favor of the product of film.

I enjoy many of the MCU films, as I enjoy many of the films at the top of the box office this year. But for every “Top Gun: Maverick” or “The Batman,” films that are franchised but well written and grounded in traditional filmmaking techniques, there’s a “Jurassic World Dominion” or “Thor: Love and Thunder,” films that are made on studio lots in front of green screens, and are more concerned with leaving the door open for a sequel rather than telling a full story. 

For all of the franchise fare, there is only one “Nope,” or “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” films that are entirely original, while being made and released on a large budget. 

Now, this would not be as unbearable if you could escape at home, but streaming television is slowly being consumed by the need for franchises to carry their platform as well. 

Disney+ originals nearly exclusively deal in the MCU and Star Wars realm, with the rare exception of a “High School Musical” or “Mighty Ducks” reboot. Amazon has a “Lord of the Rings” show (which is actually good, albeit with some glaring pacing issues) ordered for at least two seasons, with a plan for five. As well as trying to appeal to older audiences, with both a “Jack Reacher” show and a “Jack Ryan” show, both franchises which aren’t even 10 years removed from their last attempts. 

The streaming material that actually is good, either should’ve been a movie or shouldn’t have been on streaming in the first place. “Andor” is great, but one has to wonder how good it would’ve been as a tight two-hour spy thriller. “Prey” was good, but why on earth was it dumped on streaming? Especially in the time frame it was! 

When “Prey” was released, the top three films at the box office were “Bullet Train,” “DC League of Superpets” and “Nope,” which was in its third week. You’re telling me a new Predator movie wouldn’t have cleaned house? 

Don’t even get me started on the disappointment “Obi-Wan Kenobi” was as a TV show, and the potential it had as a movie. Which is ironic, as it was originally pitched as a movie, but converted to a TV series after the box office failure of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which Disney only has themselves to blame for after not marketing the movie until 2 months before release. 

The point is, I wish we could go back to a time of variety, when actors weren’t filming their scenes all in separate green screen rooms. Where they weren’t dedicating 10+ years of their careers to franchises that they wish they could’ve left halfway through the deal. I wish we could have the 1990s – 2000s era of movies back.