The 2020s have been a brutal era for original Hollywood filmmaking. Franchises, sequels, and established IP have dominated the box office while movies without a built-in fanbase have had to fight for every ticket sold. Against that backdrop, a handful of original films still managed to break through in a major way.
A newly circulated ranking from film news account Film Updates on X highlights the ten original movies that performed best financially during this decade, and the list spans animated blockbusters, horror breakouts, and one massive underdog success story. Here is how they stack up.
‘Wish’ (2023)
Disney’s animated musical ‘Wish’ was built as one of the studio’s marquee releases to mark its hundredth anniversary. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, the film features the voices of Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, and Alan Tudyk.
The story is set in the magical kingdom of Rosas, where an idealistic young woman named Asha discovers that the ruler Magnifico is hoarding the wishes of his subjects. When she makes a wish on a star, it summons a cosmic force that helps her stand up against the king’s control.
Despite the anniversary push behind it, ‘Wish’ did not reach the heights of Disney’s biggest animated hits at the box office. The film closed out its theatrical run with 255 million dollars worldwide.
‘Encanto’ (2021)
‘Encanto’ remains one of the most recognizable original animated films Disney has released this decade. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, with Charise Castro Smith serving as a key writer and Lin Manuel Miranda composing the songs.
The film follows the Madrigal family, who live in an enchanted house in the mountains of Colombia. Every family member has a special gift except Mirabel, who appears ordinary at first glance, and when the magic protecting the family starts to fade, it is Mirabel who has to figure out what is really happening.
‘Encanto’ pulled in 261 million dollars theatrically, a total that was modest by Disney’s biggest standards. The film’s afterlife on streaming and through its soundtrack turned it into a much bigger cultural phenomenon than its initial box office run suggested.
‘Weapons’ (2025)
‘Weapons’ is a horror film from Zach Cregger, the director who first drew wide attention with ‘Barbarian.’ The premise is unsettling from the jump, with nearly every child from one school classroom vanishing on the same night at the same time with no clear explanation.
The finished cast includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan. Studio interest in Cregger’s script was reportedly intense, and the production also drew extra attention due to scheduling shifts tied to the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
‘Weapons’ ended its run with 270 million dollars worldwide, a strong number for an original horror title without any existing brand behind it.
‘Migration’ (2023)
The animated comedy ‘Migration’ was produced by Illumination, the studio behind the ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Minions’ franchises. Benjamin Renner directed the film, and Mike White wrote the screenplay. The voice cast includes Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito.
The plot follows a family of ducks living a safe but repetitive life in New England. While the father Mack is cautious and set in his routines, the rest of the family wants to take a bold trip to Jamaica, and the simple adventure story becomes a vehicle for themes about fear of change, family dynamics, and stepping outside a comfort zone.
‘Migration’ brought in 301 million dollars globally, putting it comfortably ahead of several bigger-budget original films released the same year.
‘Free Guy’ (2021)
‘Free Guy’ is an action comedy from director Shawn Levy starring Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds plays Guy, an easygoing bank teller who discovers he is not a real person at all but a background character in a massive online video game, and once he becomes aware of the world around him, Guy starts pushing back against the game’s rules and tries to stop it from being shut down.
Alongside Reynolds, the cast includes Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, and Taika Waititi. The film arrived in theaters in 2021, during a period when audiences were still gradually returning to cinemas, which made its performance an important signal that big-budget original movies could still pull in a wide crowd.
‘Free Guy’ finished with 331 million dollars at the global box office.
‘Tenet’ (2020)
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ holds a unique place on this list as one of the most visible symbols of the pandemic era in film. It was released in 2020, right as theaters were operating under heavy restrictions or only just reopening in many markets.
Nolan’s science fiction thriller follows a protagonist pulled into an operation built around time inversion technology, where cause and effect begin to run in reverse. The cast includes John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, and Michael Caine.
Even with its release severely limited by pandemic conditions, ‘Tenet’ still closed with 365 million dollars worldwide, making it one of the decade’s most successful original films despite the circumstances working against it.
‘Sinners’ (2025)
‘Sinners’ is a horror drama from Ryan Coogler, the filmmaker behind ‘Fruitvale Station,’ ‘Creed,’ and ‘Black Panther.’ The story is set in Mississippi in 1932, with Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers who return home hoping to leave a troubled past behind them, only to run into a evil that goes far beyond the usual bounds of a gangster period drama.
The cast also includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, and Miles Caton. ‘Sinners’ blends Southern gothic atmosphere, musical elements, supernatural horror, and a story rooted in American racial history, and its success reinforced the idea that original genre films with a strong directorial voice still have real room in theaters.
The film grossed 370 million dollars globally.
‘Hoppers’ (2026)
‘Hoppers’ is a Pixar animated science fiction film directed by Daniel Chong, known for creating the animated series ‘We Bare Bears.’ The story follows a girl named Mabel who joins an unusual experiment that transfers human consciousness into a robotic animal, giving her the ability to communicate with the animal world.
The voice cast includes Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, and Dave Franco. As one of the few fully original Pixar titles released this decade, ‘Hoppers’ showed that the studio can still compete outside of its most familiar sequels and franchises.
‘Hoppers’ earned 389 million dollars at the global box office.
‘Obsession’ (2026)
‘Obsession’ is an American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker. It follows Bear, a shy man who buys a strange object capable of granting any wish, and when he wishes for his childhood friend Nikki to fall in love with him, that wish comes true in a terrifying and destructive way.
The leading roles are played by Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette. What makes ‘Obsession’ one of the biggest surprises of the decade is its production budget of roughly 750 thousand dollars, a shoestring figure compared to nearly everything else on this list.
Word of mouth and social media discussion turned ‘Obsession’ into a genuine global theatrical hit, and it ultimately finished with 403 million dollars worldwide.
‘Elemental’ (2023)
Topping the list is Pixar’s ‘Elemental,’ directed by Peter Sohn. The story is set in a city where residents made of fire, water, earth, and air all live together, centering on Ember, a fiery young woman from an immigrant family, and Wade, an emotional young man from the water world, whose relationship develops despite differences their community sees as impossible to bridge.
Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie voice the two leads in the original version. ‘Elemental’ had a slow start in theaters, but it built momentum over time and became the decade’s biggest original box office success.
The film ultimately grossed 496 million dollars worldwide, nearly half a billion dollars from a movie that opened to a fairly quiet debut.
Which of these original box office success stories caught you by surprise, and does ‘Elemental’ deserve its spot at the very top of the decade’s list?
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