A blockbuster movie generally has a huge budget of over $100 million, a high concept, and several movie stars attached. And though there are more blockbusters being released today than there ever has been, they are all part of a franchise and none of them are completely original.
Between adaptations of popular novels, sequels, and movies based on comic books, it's rare when audiences find a huge blockbuster movie that's actually based on a wholly original screenplay. But for as few and far between as they are, and while they were much more popular in the 1990s and 2000s, they do exist, and they provided 2010s moviegoing audiences with a lot of entertainment.
Ad Astra (2019) - 6.5
With a budget of Ad Astra is very much a blockbuster movie, though it doesn't exactly feel like it. The film is extremely slow-paced and it has an intentionally monotonous delivery from Pitt. And while the sci-fi flick is full of set pieces and features well-crafted action sequences, they aren't what viewers would call "exciting."
Ad Astra follows an astronaut (Pitt) on a top-secret mission to find his father, who is sitting on the very edge of the Solar System. Because of the film's melancholic tone, that might be why general audiences didn't respond to it all that well, even though it was positively received by critics.
The Other Guys (2010) - 6.6
After a string of mostly ad-libbed comedies where most of the scenes take place within four walls, writer-director Adam McKay leveled up. The Other Guys is an all-out action-comedy full of huge shootouts and chase sequences, and it threw two of the biggest stars in the world together, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
It is the exact popcorn flick that audiences wanted, as it became the Don't Look Up, it had the biggest budget that the director has ever worked with, as it had a production cost of $100 million.
Oblivion (2013) - 7.0
Tom Cruise is the biggest action star in the world, and he earned that title by committing to doing his own stunts and starring in iconic movie series like Oblivion.
The film's failure might be why Cruise only sticks to existing properties these days. However, despite being one of the biggest bombs of the decade, it's still a very good sci-fi movie. It's heavy on the action, one of the most stunning-looking sci-fi flicks of the past decade, and features Cruise's best performance in years.
engers (2016) - 7.0
It isn't hard to understand why studios stick to well-known properties rather than developing original ideas, as most of the examples of original blockbusters in the 2010s were huge flops. Along with Oblivion, engers underperformed at the box office, and depending on how much its marketing budget was, it could still be in the red.
However, while not even Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence could get people to see the movie when it was initially released, it is still well-liked by those who saw it. The studio missed a golden opportunity, as engers would have made a better horror movie.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019) - 7.6
There are a handful of directors who are given a budget of however much they ask for, as studios know that their names are just as much a selling point as the movie stars. Whether it's Christopher Nolan or Martin Scorsese, audiences know exactly what they're going to get, and that's no different with Quentin Tarantino.
The director's latest, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, had a huge budget, three massive movie stars, and it transformed Hollywood into a more exciting swinging '60s than ever before. With a 7.6 on IMDb, the revisionist historical comedy-drama is one of the worst ratings for a Tarantino movie, but that's just a testament to how great of a filmmaker he is, as 7.6 is still a hugely impressive score.
Gravity (2013) - 7.7
Gravity was a spectacle on all s, and even though it isn't part of a successful franchise, the 2013 release was still a huge event. It's visually stunning, the digital effects are so seamless that it's impossible to tell what is and what isn't an effect, and it makes phenomenal use of 3D.
Few movies are able to be so anxiety-inducing and so entertaining at the same time, and Gravity will have viewers clutching onto the arms of their seats to the point where they'll have white knuckles. On top of that, the only two characters in the movie are played by two of Hollywood's most elite, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.
1917 (2019) - 8.3
Just like with Gravity, the effects in 1917 are so seamless, and the novelty of the movie turned its release into an event. And as it was all anybody was talking about, the word-of-mouth had everyone rushing out to see it. The movie was shot to look like one continuous, uncut take, and while it was cut together, the edits are so well hidden and director Sam Mendes pulled it off brilliantly.
Between the digital effects and practical explosions, 1917 is a superb war movie, and it's certainly the best of the past decade. And with an ensemble cast that includes Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Mark Strong, it's one of the best original British blockbusters too.
Django Unchained (2012) - 8.5
Being another movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction. This movie was epic in every sense of the word. Between the movie's star power, its 1800s set and costume designs, the music, and the copious amounts of action and bloodshed, Django Unchained is the ultimate Tarantino movie.
Django is the best movie antihero, and as he goes from one plantation to the next killing slave owners, it gets increasingly entertaining with every over-the-top murder. Tarantino outdid himself with the 2012 movie in of scale, and he hasn't made a movie as epic since.
Interstellar (2014) - 8.7
These days, it seems as if only Christopher Nolan is given complete freedom to do whatever he likes on the scale that he works on. Though Roland Emmerich had a budget of $140 million to make the newly released Moonfall, that money was pulled in from several different production companies.
However, Warner Bros. would solely throw best apocalypse movie not about zombies, and even its extremely convoluted plot and exhausting runtime wasn't enough to stop audiences from showing up in droves to see the film on opening weekend.
Inception (2010) - 8.8
It's safe to say that The Dark Knight Rises. The 2010 movie is the kind of inventive sci-fi film that comes around once a decade.
Inception was the first original blockbuster movie to challenge audiences since 1999's The Matrix. And there hasn't yet been an original action movie on the same scale that has rivaled its genius since. It just goes to show that original movies can be just as successful and beloved as films in long-running franchises.
