Let’s xertz to the point in case.

The last three summers (2022-2024) provided the right amount of A-level tentpoles that helped maintain balance after a tumultuous COVID period in 2020 and parts of 2021. In 2022, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder did their jobs and then some. 2023 saw the infamous breakout of the #Barbenheimer trend that also allowed business with usual with the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Little Mermaid, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. 2024 had the notable biggies, including Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. That’s not to say all was glamorous, as these select titles had to counter some “okay” blockbuster performances and coin-flip attempts at establishing new franchises.

2025, errr, more like a season of the “shrug off the IPs and give us more originals.”

As we’ve had this discussion time and again, most of the IPs this year came across as repetitive and monotonous, eerily pointing fingers at the shareholders instead of the casual audiences who wanted a follow-up. No one was finding it scintillating that a spinoff of John Wick was occurring, as they already had a nice supply in the four event films with Keanu Reeves. You’ve already had a filling of Cobra Kai for six seasons, that Karate Kid: Legends became more of an “another karate kid? We’ve done this so many times now!” Kids weren’t interested in any more Smurfs, M3GAN 2.0 was a Terminator 2: Judgment Day redux that folks weren’t asking for, and Elio became so damaged by Disney’s prioritization of Disney+ for so many years and questionable reshoots that it fell in the worst-case scenario for a Pixar film.

The MCU has also seen its wipeout state, as the once S-tier brand is no longer a reliable crowd puller with new titles or new heroes outside of the Avengers, Spider-Man, or the Guardians of the Galaxy. Granted, better content emerged this summer thanks to Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the damage has been exposed and dug into ever since Quantumania showcased that blood was in the water. This year marks the first time since 2011 that no superhero film has surpassed $700 million at the worldwide box office. Speaking of superheroes, Superman was the semi-outlier for a new set-in-stone version of the red and blue superhero, thanks to a new direction helmed by DC under James Gunn. It played as a “different from the other Superman versions” we had witnessed, and has passed $600 million worldwide to showcase that this reboot can create a new life for itself.

The only biggies this summer season that played as expected were Lilo & Stitch, Superman, How to Train Your Dragon, and Jurassic World Rebirth. And yet, we’ve had some more standout beats from movies that were originals, which took home the goods most expected of the tentpoles, such as Weapons, F1, and the remnants of Sinners from its April release. Ditto, A Minecraft Movie, becoming a breakout based on a gaming-centric IP that kids and adults of its generation could enjoy. Overall, the summer lacked the good-for-theaters momentum, nor did it have a lightning-in-a-bottle scenario that would exhilarate the box office totals.

The pivotal question here is: Is Hollywood due for a correction when it comes to IP?

In some fashion, yes. However, keep in mind that fans still clamored to see the seventh Jurassic Park/World, the eighth Mission Impossible, and the sixth Final Destination. Maybe not recycling the duplicate content that folks have no desire to see again is also a plus. Any goodwill on Hollywood’s part, for the sake of theaters, is to ensure that big blockbusters comprise the right mix of what is audacious and new, while incorporating the “usual for business” as long as people still want it.

The shareholders couldn’t be any more downtrodden when the likes of your latest Pixar flick (sorry!) bombs in the worst manner possible (a once treasured banner), when the likes of Brad Pitt show he’s still a “bankable” movie star, or a new horror setpiece (Weapons) can bring a simple premise to make it a FOMO event for theaters. And yes, originals can still be considered just as “risky” as damaged-goods IP, but I think the folks have spoken enough lately to tell you what they want.

Roll the dice on an even playing field, while remaining keenly aware of what the folks will pay tickets for. Leave the dying IPs alone.