Right now, the total domestic box office for the movie “Sinners” is at approx. $240 million. That is the biggest box office for an ORIGIAL SCRIPT – NOT based on a true story/book/video game/etc. and NOT a sequel/prequel/reboot/remake/spinoff/etc. – since “The Secret Life of Pets” back in 2016. This got some people talking about major studios (“Sinners” was released by Warner Bros) releasing more original movies. So, instead of writing about what I think will be the biggest movies of summer 2025 – which unofficially starts this Memorial Day weekend – I’m going to list the ORIGINAL movies that the major studios this summer.
The Phoenician Scheme (distributed by Focus Features – but that company is owned by the same company that owns Universal so it’s close to a major studio).
Description: “The story of a family and a family business.”
The newest movie from writer/director Wes Anderson. The trailer looks like the comedy/drama that Wes Anderson is known for. It recently screened at the Cannes Film festival and received some great reviews.
Elio (A Pixar movie distributed by Walt Disney Pictures)
Description: “Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.”
Almost all the non-sequel Pixar movies have been original screenplays including this one.
F1: The Movie (Apple Studios movie distributed by Warner Bros)
Description: “A Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver.”
I don’t think this movie is based on a true story. The storyline is similar to some previous movies – such as “Driven” (2001) – but I think this isn’t a remake or reboot of a previous movie. Although the tagline for “Driven” – “A young hot shot driver is in the middle of a championship season and is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion is called in to give him guidance.” Is very similar to the description for this movie.
“Weapons” (distributed by Warner Bros)
Description: “When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.”
An original horror/mystery from the writer/director or “Barbarians” (2022).
“Clika” (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures release)
Description: “A small town musician pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music after a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral.”
While this movie looks like it’s influenced by previous movies where a singer is looking to become famous – such as “8 Mile” (2002) – I don’t think this movie is a reboot or remake. I think the pitch for this movie was something like “8 Mile for Mexican-American music”.
Almost every major studio has a movie from an original screenplay (the only one missing is Paramount – they are distributing an original movie called “Roofman” in October). There’s something for every audience. A comedy/drama, an animated movie for the whole family, an action/racing movie, a horror/mystery, and a musical drama. So, if you’re looking for something original to see this summer, I recommend checking out one of the above.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 