Lately, it feels like every sci-fi movie is a sequel, a reimagining, or a fresh take of an old series. And while the 80s are ruling the box office<\/a>, not everything is rosy. While tentpoles like How to Train Your Dragon<\/em> and Superman<\/em> did bring in a lot of money, Thunderbolts<\/em>* and Captain America: Brave New World<\/em> underperformed considerably. <\/p>\n Considering that science fiction has been bringing in the big money for Hollywood studios over the past decade or more, it\u2019s been disappointing. In fact, the only movies that are really performing are just animation films, like Ne Zha<\/em> 2, and live-action remakes of animation films, like How to Train Your Dragon <\/em>and Lilo & Stitch<\/em>. <\/p>\n So, what\u2019s going wrong in the process? <\/p>\n \nFrom a financial perspective, Jurassic World Rebirth<\/em> makes sense as a 2025 movie. The monsters are enormous, and kids and adults will always like dinosaurs. However, turning a 400-page book into a multi-part franchise (there have now been seven films) is suspect at best. This is mostly nostalgia. Adults love to introduce kids to lore from their childhood, and action is a safe bet. Hollywood thinks these films are bankable, and they spend a lot of money on making them, and everything becomes another rehash of a rehash of a movie. <\/p>\n But this also means that original stories are missing. Science fiction is supposed to be fantastical and different. By the very definition of the genre, they must go boldly where no one has gone before. TV shows have also been doing this. Severance<\/em> and Pluribus<\/em> are massive hits, and Apple TV has been creating a lot of new series that push the boundaries of science fiction. <\/p>\n \nThe problem with Hollywood is that from 20008 to the late 2010s, franchises just worked. Every Avengers movie made billions of dollars, and an MCU film was a surefire way to get a blockbuster. Every studio puts its money on making the next big cinematic universe, and you now get five to six films every year that belong to these universes. As a fan, you\u2019re expected to watch two, three, or even thirty movies to make sense of the latest blockbuster near you. <\/p>\n But, since the studios have already put in the money, they can\u2019t stop anymore. It\u2019s just bleak. Thankfully, in 2025, studios are taking notice. While there are tentpoles, the schedules are slower, and Hollywood is taking bolder bets.<\/p>\n Mickey 17<\/em> isn\u2019t about superheroes that don flashy suits (even though both main characters are superheroes in Marvel and DC movies). Instead, the film reflects on capitalism and the futility of human life. And it was a hit. Mickey 17<\/em> isn\u2019t alone. Companion<\/em> and The Life of Chuck<\/em> are also science fiction stories that discuss human relationships and share very personal stories. Even Shrouds<\/em> and Descendent<\/em> are telling human stories behind the facade of science fiction. The reason these films work is that they\u2019re made on low budgets. When you aren\u2019t starting from $400 million spend, it’s easy to build a profit. Plus, movies have a strange way of succeeding when someone actually spends time writing a script. <\/p>\n Hollywood has been on a losing spiral lately. The big tentpoles have been a hit or miss, and even though some movies are performing well (Superman<\/em> and Fantastic Four<\/em> were smash hits), they are struggling to turn out a profit. Maybe by 2026, Hollywood executives will realise that something\u2019s gotta give. But, before that, let\u2019s talk about some must-watch 2025 movies. <\/p>\n \nBong Joon-ho\u2019s clone satire is a messy, genre-hopping trip about a disposable worker who keeps dying for capitalism, equal parts bleak, funny, and sad. It doesn\u2019t always hang together, but Pattinson\u2019s acting and the film\u2019s angry underclass politics make it one of the more memorable sci-fi stories of the year.<\/p>\n \nCompanion is a sharp, nasty little movie about an AI girlfriend who wakes up to how badly she\u2019s being used. It plays like a Black Mirror episode that criticizes tech, toxic masculinity, and discusses consent. <\/p>\n \nCronenberg uses a grotesque cemetery invention to talk about our obsession with staying connected to the dead. It\u2019s slow and deeply morbid, but if you\u2019re on its wavelength, the blend of emotional rawness and fleshy weirdness really lingers. <\/p>\n In a year where dinosaurs, remakes, and capes are everywhere, it\u2019s the scrappier, stranger sci-fi films that actually feel alive. 2025 has made it pretty clear that audiences are tired of homework-heavy franchises. If Hollywood truly wants sci-fi to make a comeback, it doesn\u2019t need a bigger multiverse; it needs more movies like Mickey 17<\/em>.<\/p>\nHollywood Is Banking on Nostalgia<\/h2>\n
So, Why Can\u2019t Hollywood Just Make Originals?<\/h2>\n
The Return of Indie Science Fiction<\/h2>\n
![\"Mickey](\"https:\/\/wealthofgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mickey-17.png\" "\\"artificial")
Mickey 17<\/h3>\n
Companion<\/h3>\n
The Shrouds<\/h3>\n
Up Next: Beyond the Familiar: Top 5 Sci-Fi Anime of All Time<\/a><\/strong><\/h6>\n