Original screenplays vs. other sources for movies
Just to put things in perspective, the website The Numbers breaks down the number of movies per their source from the last 17 years:
Top-Grossing Movie Sources 1995 to 2011
MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share1Original Screenplay3,996$89,141,677,446$22,307,72749.38%2Based on Book/Short Story1,271$40,273,352,247$31,686,35122.31%3Remake225$11,672,459,838$51,877,5996.47%4Based on TV163$9,728,826,681$59,686,0535.39%5Based on Real Life Events1,292$8,805,324,581$6,815,2674.88%6Based on Comic/Graphic Novel97$8,608,042,145$88,742,7034.77%7Based on Play164$2,019,002,500$12,310,9911.12%8Based on Magazine Article39$1,671,526,940$42,859,6650.93%9Disney Ride6$1,386,450,699$231,075,1160.77%10Traditional/Legend/Fairytale28$1,218,438,798$43,515,6710.67%11Based on Game29$1,077,116,219$37,141,9390.60%12Spin-Off12$865,217,779$72,101,4820.48%13Based on Musical/Opera30$845,367,888$28,178,9300.47%14Based on Religious Text2$471,059,905$235,529,9520.26%15Based on Factual Book/Article13$465,285,719$35,791,2090.26%16Based on Short Film16$433,225,114$27,076,5700.24%17Based on Toy2$177,416,071$88,708,0350.10%18Compilation19$112,348,874$5,913,0990.06%19Musical Group Movie1$49,202,987$49,202,9870.03%20Based on Ballet3$1,844,508$614,8360.00%
Breaking down the numbers:
* More movies based on original screenplays than all other sources combined (in the top 20): 3,996 vs. 3,412.
* But if you add up all the revenues in the top 20 from non-original screenplays, the totals are almost the same: $89,141,000,000 (original screenplays) vs. $89,875,000,000.
* What about the highest average gross:
$235M — Based on religious text
$231M — Based on Disney rides
$88M — Based on comic/graphic novel
$88M — Based on toy
$72M — Based on spinoff
$59M — Based on TV
$51M — Remake
$49M — Musical Group Movie
$43M — Traditional/Legend/Fairytale
$42M — Based on magazine/article
$37M — Based on game
$35M — Based on factual book/article
$31M — Based on book/short story
$28M — Based on musical/opera
$27M — Based on short film
$22M — Original screenplay
So while most movies in the last 17 years are based on original screenplays, there are some eye-popping grosses from movies based on other sources with that $22M figure at the bottom of the list looking very much… well… like at the bottom of the list… which perhaps explains in part why Hollywood studios drifted toward theme park rides, toys, spinoffs, and the like.
For more of these numbers, go here.