“Here’s Proof Originality Doesn’t Pay in Hollyw’d”
Okay, I think we’ve all been feeling entirely too happy around here, so time to bum you out with this: “Here’s Proof Originality Doesn’t Pay in Hollywood”:
Some enterprising Wikipedia contributor decided to pull together a list of the 50 films with the highest worldwide gross of this decade so far.
Here’s the thing: One has to go all the way down to №15 on the list, Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” before finding one created from original material — in other words, not a sequel, remake or adaptation of existing material or characters (such as Batman or Harry Potter).
Hey, don’t blame me, blame the anonymous Wikipedia dude or dudette who figured it out. Here’s the list with the original movies in bold letters:
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line; 2003) $1,119,110,941
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Disney; 2006) $1,066,179,725
3. The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.; 2008) $1,001,921,825
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Warner Bros.; 2001) $974,733,550
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (Disney; 2007) $960,996,492
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros.; 2007) $938,212,738
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.; 2009) $929,022,922
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line; 2002) $925,282,504
9. Shrek 2 (DreamWorks; 2004) $919,838,758
10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.; 2005) $895,921,036
11. Spider-Man 3 (Columbia; 2007) $890,871,626
12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros.; 2002) $878,643,482
13. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox; 2009) $878,615,229
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line; 2001) $870,761,744
15. Finding Nemo (Disney/Pixar; 2003) $864,625,978
16. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox; 2005) $848,754,768
17. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount; 2009) $833,229,011
18. Spider-Man (Columbia; 2002) $821,708,551
19. Shrek the Third (DreamWorks; 2007) $798,958,162
20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Bros.; 2004) $795,634,069
21. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount; 2008) $786,636,033
22. Spider-Man 2 (Columbia; 2004) $783,766,341
23. The Da Vinci Code (Sony/Columbia; 2006) $758,239,851
24. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Disney; 2005) $745,011,272
25. The Matrix Reloaded (Warner Bros.; 2003) $742,128,461
26. Transformers *DreamWorks/Paramount; 2007) $709,709,780
27. Ice Age: The Meltdown (20th Century Fox; 2006) $655,388,158
28. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney; 2003) $654,264,015
29. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (20th Century Fox; 2002) $649,398,328
30. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks; 2008) $631,736,484
31. The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar; 2004) $631,442,092
32. Hancock (Columbia; 2008) $624,386,746
33. Ratatouille (Disney/Pixar; 2007) $623,707,397
34. The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket; 2004) $611,899,420
35. Mamma Mia! (Universal; 2008) $609,841,637
36. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks; 2008) $603,900,344
37. Casino Royale (MGM/Columbia; 2006) $594,239,066
38. War of the Worlds (DreamWorks/Paramount; 2005) $591,745,540
39. Quantum of Solace (MGM/Columbia; 2008) $586,090,727
40. I Am Legend (Warner Bros.; 2007) $585,349,010
41. Iron Man (Paramount; 2008) $585,133,287
42. Night at the Museum (20th Century Fox; 2006) $574,480,450
43. King Kong (Universal; 2005) $550,517,357
44. Mission: Impossible II (Paramount; 2000) $546,388,105
45. The Day After Tomorrow (20th Century Fox; 2004) $544,272,402
46. Madagascar (DreamWorks; 2005) $532,680,671
47. The Simpsons Movie (20th Century Fox; 2007) $527,071,022
48. Monsters, Inc. (Disney/Pixar; 2001) $525,366,597
49. WALL-E (Disney/Pixar; 2008) $521,268,237
50. Meet the Fockers (Universal; 2004) $516,642,939
Wow, a lot of non-bold letters! So what are you waiting for? Go write that killer original spec script that will get a big fat green light.
UPDATE: Okay, enough with the depression! Here is list: “10 Movies You Should Have Invested In”, basically the lowest budget to highest profit movies of all time. They are:
10. Rocky (1976)
Production Budget: $1,000,000
Box Office Revenue: $225,000,000
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:225
9. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Budget: $114,000
Box Office Revenue: $30,000,000
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:263
8. El mariachi (1992)
Budget: $7,000
Box Office Revenue: £2,040,920
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:292
7. The Brothers MacMullen (1995)
Budget: $25,000
Box Office Revenue: $10,426,506 (US domestic gross only)
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:417
6. Super Size Me (2004)
Budget: $65,000
Box Office Revenue: $29,529,368
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:454
5. Mad Max (1980)
Budget: $200,000
Box Office Revenue: $99,750,000
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:499
4. The Road to Ruin (1928)
Budget: $2,500
Box Office Revenue: $2,500,000
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:1000
3. Deep Throat (1972)
Budget: $22,500
Box Office Revenue: $45,000,000 (US domestic gross only)
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:2000
2. Tarnation (2004)
Budget: $218.32
Box Office Revenue: $1,162,014
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:5323
1.The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Budget: $35,000
Box Office Revenue: $248,300,000
Budget/Revenue Ratio: 1:7094
Have to add to that Paranormal Experience, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sex, Lies & Videotape, Clerks. So most of the most profitable movies (ratio of budget to revenue) are original stories.