100 Original Scripted Films Released in 2024

Musing Outloud about Original IP Movies

I sometimes let myself get frustrated when people claim about modern cinema that “there are no new ideas” and “it’s all just sequels and franchises.” I go to the movies every week, limit those trips to only one franchise per year, and I’ve never had a shortage of amazing, beautiful movies to watch. In fact I’ve missed quite a few movies I wanted to see, for surplus of choice.

I’m also a filmmaker and hang out with a lot of professional and aspiring artists who are really trying hard to get their work out there and seen, so it’s hard not to take it as a bit of a personal affront. Technically when people say “Hollywood has no new ideas” they’re mostly speaking of the studio system and not necessarily the indie circuit, but nevertheless it’s a huge risk and highly costly to make movies just for people to write the entire enterprise off.

Most of the time I just stick to saying “There are a lot of great indie releases that you should check out!”, but 2024 delivered us a pretty disturbing case study:

This year has been a great year for original, inspired, magical indie films. The Substance, Longlegs, A Different Man, La Chimera, Challengers, Thelma, and Hundreds of Beavers were all breakout phenomena while for my taste I Saw the TV Glow, Memoir of a Snail, Rumours, and Love Lies Bleeding were wonderful experiences.

Nevertheless, the film and movie theatre industry have been wringing their hands in worry as theatre attendance declined this year sharply from 2023…

… Until it rebounded for the holiday season. The Thanksgiving weekend trinity of Wicked, Moana 2, and Gladiator II pushed the year’s total box office within fighting distance of matching or exceeding 2023, and the the gains were quickly amplified by Mufasa, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and a remake of Nosferatu.

The “Industry’s” overall takeaway is that box office was suppressed by the lack of tentpole franchise releases from work stoppages from the pandemic and the strikes. What that means to them is that when the big franchises were taken away and audiences were given original concept films, the audience passed. When the franchises were offered again, they returned in droves.

The thing is, original scripts are still getting written. Filmmakers are still hitting for the fences.

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So, I got grumpy. And then I got into a stupid argument with someone about giving original scripts a chance, and the dude insisted that modern cinema is just rehashes written by committee, and it made me annoyed.

And I said, “Dude, there were hundreds of original scripted movies made this year.”

He said he doubted it. He also said streaming-only movies don’t count.

So, here are 100 original scripted films released in 2024 — with at least multiple city limited release in US domestic movie theatres.

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Here’s the rules:

• Original script: no franchise, remake, sequels, prequels, establishing franchises¹, off-shoots or spin-offs, serials, nor… even adaptations.²

• Meaningful US domestic theatrical release: over $400k gross and multiple weeks in cinemas. Avoiding streaming services just throwing into a single screen to win awards and a few of those 'Fathom Events' screenings of Christian plays and concerts and such.

• Only two writers credited for the screenplay to (perhaps arbitrarily) exclude write-by-committee. ³

• Listed by box office rating as pulled from The Numbers at the time I made the list. Total box office may have shifted over the last week or will in the next few. ⁴

• Asterix means I've seen it myself.

• Descriptions were put together from a combination of IMDb and Wikipedia listings, usually to be more specific about the plot and framing about what the audience draw is, but sometimes to cut ad language out. Where I’ve seen the movie myself, the description is completely custom written.

Without further ado….

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IF

Written & Directed by John Krasinski | Family Comedy

A young girl begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.

Red One *

Dir. Jake Kasdan | Written by Chris Morgan & Hiram Garcia | Christmas Action Comedy

Dwayne Johnson plays the leader of ELF, the North Pole’s security detail, who has to team up with a degenerate cybercriminal and Level 4 Naughty Lister played by Chris Evans to find out who kidnapped Santa Claus.

Longlegs

Written & Directed by Osgood Perkins | Horror/Thriller

An occult serial killer movie with Nicholas Cage that had a marketing campaign that was not only long and interesting, but also quite successful.

Civil War *

Written & Directed by Alex Garland | Speculative Fiction Action

A24’s most expensive film production to date, pointedly released during an election year, has sci fi maestro Alex Garland speculating on what the United States would look like if the discourse about civil war broke out into real world militia violence.

The Beekeeper

Dir. David Ayer | Written by Kurt Wimmer | Action

Jason Statham thriller about a former operative out for revenge after his kindhearted landlady falls victim to a phishing scam (compare to Thelma, below) and commits suicide.

Anyone But You

Dir. Will Gluck | Written by Will Gluck & Ilana Wolpert | Romantic Comedy

Low-key Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney romantic comedy about a bad first date that turns to romance after the leads pretend to be a couple at a wedding. Anyone But You received additional theatrical legs after Powell broke out in Twisters.

Challengers *

Dir. Luca Guadagnino | Written by Justin Kuritzkes | Sports Dramedy

Two ultra competitive frenemies compete to win a match and the affections of Zendaya, who is far more interested in seeing them hook up with each other.

Argylle

Dir. Matthew Vaughn | Written by Jason Fuchs | Spy Comedy

A spy spoof about an espionage novel writer whose story starts to match real events happening to her.

Trap

Written & Directed by M. Night Shyamalan | Thriller

A father and daughter attend a pop concert that’s locked down to capture a killer.

Reagan

Dir. Sean McNamara | Written by Paul Kengor & Howard Klausner | Biopic

A biopic about conservative idol Ronald Reagan covering his life from childhood through his time in the oval office.

Heretic

Written & Directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods | Horror Thriller

Horror movie about two young religious women drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse in the house of a strange man played by Hugh Grant.

We Live in Time

Dir. John Crowley | Written by Nick Payne | Romance

An chef and a divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together in a decade-spanning romance.

Blink Twice

Dir. Zoë Kravitz | Written by Zoë Kravitz & E.T. Feigenbaum | Thriller

Another film in the recent and prevalent “private island” subgenre. A cocktail waitress is invited to join a tech billionaire and his friends on a dream vacation, only strange events cause her to question reality.

Unsung Hero

Written & Directed by Richard L. Ramsey and Joel David Smallbone | Christian Biopic

Based on a true story about an Australian family that immigrates to the US after their music business falls apart, only to become chart-topping sensations.

The Iron Claw

Written & Directed by Sean Durkin | Biopic

The true story of the Von Erich brothers, who made history in professional wrestling in the early 1980s.

Cabrini

Dir. Alejandro Monteverde | Written by Alejandro Monteverde & Rod Barr | Christian Biopic

True story of an Italian immigrant who fights the hostile mayor to provide housing and healthcare for hundreds of orphaned children in New York City.

Ordinary Angels

Dir. Jon Gunn | Written by Meg Tilly & Kelly Fremon Craig | Drama

True story a hairdresser who rallies her community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.

Kalki 2898-AD

Written & Directed by Nag Ashwin | SciFi Action

Bollywood epic about the destined arrival of Lord Vishnu’s final avatar launching a war against darkness.

The Substance *

Written & Directed by Coralie Fargeat | Horror

Sleekly shot body horror amped to 11, about an aging actress who takes “the Substance” in a desperate attempt to reclaim her career and her youth, only for her younger counterpart to turn against her.

Immaculate

Dir. by Michael Mohan | Written by Andrew Lobel | Horror

Sydney Sweeney plays a devout nun warmly welcomed to an illustrious convent that harbors dark and horrifying secrets.

Anora *

Written & Directed by Sean Baker | Dramedy

A dark comedy about a stripper who meets and marries a wealthy but foolish son of a Russian oligarch in a haze of partying and enthusiasm, only to be caught in a protracted two-day battle with his family over the legality of the marriage.

Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

Dir. Joshua Weigel | Written by Joshua & Rebecca Weigel | Christian Drama

The title of a true story about a reverend and his wife who lead 22 families in their church to adopt 77 children from the local foster system.⁵

Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.

Written & Directed by Todd Komarnicki | Christian Historical Thriller

“The sound of fighting fascism,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer joins a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler.

Never Let Go

Dir. Alexandre Aja | Written by KC Coughlin & Ryan Grassby | Horror Thriller

Halle Berry leads a family that has been haunted by an evil spirit for years until one of the children questions if the haunting is real.

Late Night with the Devil

Written & Directed by Colin & Cameron Cairnes | Horror

Found footage indie horror about a late night show that releases a demon upon its viewers.

Lisa Frankenstein *

Dir. Zelda Williams | Written by Diablo Cody | Horror Comedy

A quirky goth girl builds her own boyfriend in this send up of Shelley’s monster story written by the snarktastic pen of the creator of Juno and Jennifer’s Body, and directed by the daughter of Robin Williams.

Saturday Night

Dir. Jason Reitman | Written by Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan | Comedy Biopic

An exposé of the lead-up to the broadcast television changing first night airing of Saturday Night Live covered by comedy heir Jason Reitman.

Thelma *

Written & Directed by Josh Margolin | Comedy

A sweet-minded homage to Margolin’s grandmother about an octogenarian who hunts down the telephone scammers who stole her money.

Love Lies Bleeding *

Dir. Rose Glass | Written by Rose Glass & Weronika Tofilska | Thriller

A queer phantasmagoria about a body-builder on the way to a Vegas competition who falls in love with a gym attendant whose father is a vicious crimeboss.

Megalopolis *

Written & Directed by Francis Ford Coppola | Sci-Fi Epic

An indulgent phantasmagoria about a time-bending architect who is struggling to drag New York City kicking and screaming into his solarpunk vision of the future, until he finds a new muse in the mayor’s daughter.

AfrAId

Written & Directed by Chris Weitz | Horror Sci-Fi

Blumhouse’s thematic follow-up to M3gan about a home assistant device that turns against the family.⁶

A Real Pain

Written & Directed by Jesse Eisenberg | Dry Comedy

Anxious cousins tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother while coming to terms with their shared history and beefs.

I.S.S. *

Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Written by Nick Shafir | Sci-Fi Thriller

U.S. and Russian astronauts are called by their respective governments to take control of the International Space Station after nuclear war erupts on earth. Apparently this is the first fully produced script from a frequently-optioned Blacklist writer.

Cuckoo

Written & Directed by Tilman Singer | Horror Thriller

A 17-year-old girl grieving her mother’s death moves in with her uncle to help build a new hotel in the German Alps, only to discover his nefarious plans.

Back to Black

Dir. Sam Taylor-Johnson | Written by Matt Greenhalgh | Biopic

The story of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse from adolescence through the recording of her best-selling album Back to Black.

The Book of Clarence

Dir. Jeymes Samuel | Written by Jeymes Samuel & Md Minhaj Miah | Comedy Epic

A comedic modern look at the story of Jesus & Clarence.

My Old Ass *

Written & Directed by Megan Park | Time Travel Drama

A teenage girl accidentally contacts her future self through a mushroom trip and they manage to keep in touch, only to contend with the age-old question “Is it better to have love and lost than to not have loved at all?”

Kinds of Kindness *

Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | Written by Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou | Dry Comedy

A triptych of long shorts featuring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, and Willem Defoe revolving through different characters involved in Lanthimos’ typically dry, surreal stories.

Drive-Away Dolls *

Dir. Ethan Coen | Written by Tricia Cooke & Ethan Coen | Comedy

Ethan pairs with his wife rather than his brother to make a road-trip movie about lesbian friends who run off to Tallahassee to escape a breakup with a rented car that contains a bizarre relic of a local conservative politician’s sordid sex history.

Wicked Little Letters *

Dir. Thea Sharrock | Written by Jonny Sweet | Comedy Period Drama

Two neighbors, women on the margins of 1920s British society in the small town of Littlehampton during the Suffragette movement, get embroiled in a mystery. One, a faithful and observant seamstress who takes care of her aging parents, receives lewd, profane letters; the other, an Irish immigrant and single mother, gets blamed for them and sent to jail for slander. But just as the town is about to land the gavel on the scandal, the local women lead by the town’s first Woman Police Officer put together a plan to prove whodunnit.

I Saw the TV Glow *

Written & Directed by Jane Schoenbrun | Dramatic Horror

Atmospheric and moody trans allegory with an outstanding soundtrack about a teenager who must decide between risking a tortuous live burial in the belief that the Pink Opaque, his favorite television show, is real, or slowly choke to death in the “Midnight Realm” of suburban America.

Didi

Written & Directed by Sean Wang | Coming-of-Age Dramedy

A throwback to late Aughts childhood as an impressional 13-year-old boy turns to the Internet to learn how to skate, flirt, and connect with his mother.

Land of Bad

Dir. William Eubank | Written by David Frigerio & William Eubank | Action Thriller

A drone pilot provides air support to help protect a Delta Force team fighting for survival.

The Exorcism

Dir. Joshua John Miller | Written by M.A. Fortin & Joshua John Miller | Psychological Horror

A troubled actor and his estranged daughter wonder if he’s slipping into his past addictions or something more sinister is behind his bizarre behavior.

Babygirl *

Written & Directed by Halina Reijn | Erotic Thriller

Nicole Kidman plays a CEO for an automation company who is afraid of her own sexual desires and doesn’t know how to communicate them to her husband of 17 years until she starts an affair with a brash and domineering, albeit inexperienced and clumsy, intern.

In a Violent Nature

Written & Directed by Chris Nash | Horror

A vengeful spirit is resurrected to hunt down the people who removed the locket from a collapsed fire tire that entombs him.

Guntur Kaaram

Written & Directed by Trivikram Srinivas | Action

Bollywood movie about a man who demands answers when he's asked to sign a document denying he is the son of a politician who abandoned him.

The Apprentice

Dir. Ali Abbasi | Written by Gabriel Sherman | Biopic

A look into how infamous lawyer Roy M. Cohn shaped Donald Trump in the early years of his real-estate business in 1970s and '80s. Originally supported by the Trump family and campaign until it turned out to be truthful.

Babes *

Dir. Pamela Adlon | Written by Ilana Glazer & Josh Rabinowitz | Comedy

A screwball comedy about two lifelong best friends: Dawn, who just had her second child, and Eden, who has decided to have her first child as a single mother, only to find their decisions more than they reckoned for and their friendship strained.

Perfect Days

Dir. Wim Wenders | Written by Wim Wenders & Takuma Takasaki | Drama

A poetic, reflective film about a public toilet cleaner who lives a life of simplicity and tranquility.

Strange Darling

Written & Directed by J.T. Molner | Horror Thriller

A one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s murder spree.

1992

Dir. Ariel Vromen | Written by Sascha Penn & Arien Vromen | Action Drama

A shopkeeper must save his son from an angry mob during the Rodney King uprising.

The Fabulous Four

Dir. Jocelyn Moorhouse | Written by Ann Marie Allison & Jenna Milly | Comedy

Two friends travel to be bridesmaids in a surprise wedding of their college girlfriend.

My Penguin Friend

Dir. David Schurmann | Written by Kristen Lazarian & Paulina Lagudi Ulrich | Family Adventure

Inspired by a true story about the inseparable bond created between a penguin rescued from an oil spill and a heartbroken fisherman.

Absolution

Dir. Hans Petter Moland | Written by Tony Gayton | Crime Drama

An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won't loosen their grip willingly. (This description taken directly from IMDb with no edits)

Ezra

Dir. Tony Goldwyn | Written by Tony Spiridakis | Dramedy

Family road-trip movie about divorced co-parents taking their autistic son on the father’s stand-up comedy tour.

The Blue Angels

Written & Directed by Paul Crowder | Documentary

The veterans and newest class of Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron go through intense training into a season of heart-stopping aerial artistry.

The Taste of Things *

Dir. Anh Hung Tran | Written by Anh Hung Tran & Marcel Rouff | Period Drama

A gastronomic romance about the deep, loving connection between an esteemed cook and her chef husband who host dinner parties for their appreciative friends.

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Written & Directed by Kobi Libii | Fantasy Satire

A young man is recruited into a secret society of magical black people who are dedicated to making white people's lives easier.

Summer Camp

Written & Directed by Castille Landon | Comedy

Three elderly friends reunite to return to the summer camp they loved as teenagers.

Exhuma

Written & Directed by Jang Jae-hyun | Folk Horror

A Korean shaman and her protége are enlisted to exhume a grave to cure the daughter of a wealthy real estate family from the curse of “Grave’s Call”, but an accident releases evil spirits.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

Dir. Robert Lorenz | Written by Mark Michael McNally & Terry Loane | Crime Thriller

A hitman comes out of retirement when an IRA bomber on the run from the law arrives in his sleepy Irish village.

Problemista *

Written & Directed by Julio Torres | Comedy

A Salvadoreño immigrant rushes against time to get a work visa from his erratic and overbearing employer, an art critic who is attempting to design a retrospective for her dead husband’s art.

Y2K

Dir. Kyle Mooney | Written by Kyle Mooney & Evan Winter | Comedy Horror

Unpopular high school buddies make the decision to crash a millennium party on New Year's Eve 1999, but then everything goes haywire.

Between the Temples *

Dir. Nathan Silver | Written & Directed by C. Mason Wells & Nathan Silver | Dry Comedy

A cantor who has lost his singing voice and possibly his faith after his wife died slipping on a patch of ice falls in love with his former grade school teacher when she enlists as a Bat Mitzvah student.

The Firing Squad

Written & Directed by Timothy A. Chey | Christian Drama

Based on a true story of three members of the Bali Nine, Australian drug runners facing execution, who discover their faith and solace in Jesus within the prison walls.

City of Dreams

Written & Directed by Mohit Ramchandani | Drama

Inspired by a true story of a Mexican boy who wants to become a soccer star but is smuggled across the border and sold to a sweatshop in downtown Los Angeles.

Crew

Dir. Rajesh A Krishnan | Written by Nidhi Mehra & Mehul Suri | Comedy

Bollywood movie about three air hostesses become involved in a gold smuggling operation in this parody of Kingfisher Airlines, which closed down due to bankruptcy and non-payment of dues.

You Gotta Believe

Dir. Ty Roberts | Written by Lane Garrison | Sports Family Drama

A Little League baseball team dedicates their season to a player's dying father and become the underdog to reach the World Series finals.

Something to Stand For with Mike Rowe

Dir. Jonathan Coussens | Written by Mike Rowe | Documentary

Mike Rowe hosts a trip to Washington D.C. to show the history of the American Revolution, World War II, the Civil Rights movement, and more.

Goodrich

Written & Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer | Dramedy

Michael Keaton plays a father left on his own with his young kids when his wife enters a rehab program. He turns to his daughter from his first marriage for help, ultimately becoming the parent she never had.

Oddity

Written & Directed by Damian Mc Carthy | Supernatural Horror

A psychic attempts to solve her sister's murder at the site of the crime.

Kill

Dir. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat | Written by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat & Ayesha Syed | Action Thriller

Bollywood production about a pair of commandos who fight off bandits that have overtaken a train to New Delhi.

Werewolves

Dir. Steven C. Miller | Written by Matthew Kennedy | Action Horror

Two scientists try to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves after being touched by a super-moon the year before. (Taken from IMDb with no edits)

Sting

Written & Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner | Horror

A 12-year-old girl raises a spider in secret that rapidly transforms into a vicious flesh-eating monster.

Vettaiyan

Written & Directed by T.J. Gnanavel | Crime Drama

A Bollywood procedural about a senior police officer who accidentally shoots an innocent person while investigating the murder of a teacher.

Sasquatch Sunset

Written & Directed by David & Nathan Zellner | Adventure Comedy

Surreal indie comedy covering a year in the life of a family of Sasquatch.

Daddio

Written & Directed by Christy Hall | Drama

A passenger and a taxi driver connect over stories of relationships in their lives on a ride from JFK to NYC.

Evil Does Not Exist

Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Written by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi & Eiko Ishibashi | Drama

The inhabitants of Mizubiki Village outside Tokyo become aware of a plan to build a camping site near the house of Takumi and his daughter.

Arcadian

Dir. Benjamin Brewer | Written by Mike Nilon | Sci-Fi Horror

Post-apocalyptic movie with Nicolas Cage playing a father cornered with his twins in a remote farmhouse, where they must survive monsters that attack in the night.

Janet Planet

Written & Directed by Annie Baker | Coming-of-Age Drama

During the summer of 1991, 11-year-old Lacy spends her time living in her own imagination, but three visitors arrive and take the attention of Lacy’s mother Janet.

Stopmotion *

Dir. Robert Morgan | Written by Robert Morgan & Robin King | Horror Thriller

Cult stop-motion animator Robert Morgan makes his feature debut about a woman succumbing to madness under the stress of finishing her famous dead mother’s stop-motion animation.

Slingshot

Dir. Mikael Håfström | Written by R. Scott Adams & Nathan Parker | Sci-Fi Thriller

Waking up from a three-month hibernation on the way to Saturn’s moon Titan, an astronaut suffers paranoid delusions about his co-pilots and the structural integrity of their ship.

Ghostlight

Dir. Kelly O'Sullivan & Alex Thompson | Written by Kelly O'Sullivan | Dramedy

A construction worker joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet only to find parallels of the on-stage drama with his own life.

Tuesday

Written & Directed by Daina Oniunas-Pusic | Fantasy Drama

A mother tending to a daughter with terminal cancer is taught about resilience and grief from Death shrouded in the avatar of a colorful bird.

A Different Man

Written & Directed by Aaron Schimberg | Dry Comedy Thriller

An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but as he loses out on the role he was born to play, he becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.

Flow *

Dir. Gints Zilbalodis | Written by Gints Zilbalodis & Matiss Kaza | Animated Family Adventure

Lonely and distrustful Cat survives a global flooding on a rickety boat with Capybara, Dog, Lemur, and a secretary bird.

Journey to Bethlehem

Dir. Adam Anders | Written & Directed by Adam Anders & Peter Barsocchini | Christian Holiday Musical

A live-action telling of the story of Mary & Joseph and the birth of Baby Jesus with pop renditions of classic Christmas music.

Memoir of a Snail *

Written & Directed by Adam Elliot | Animation

Adam Elliott’s bittersweet portrayals of deeply lonely, quirky characters take shape around a hoarder of snail shaped memorabilia named Gracy, who struggles to find joy and acceptance in life separate from her twin brother after they are orphaned from the passing of their alcoholic father.

Hundreds of Beavers *

Dir. Mike Cheslik | Written by Mike Cheslik & Ryland Brickson Cole Tews | Comedy Adventure

A madcap throwback to silent era slapstick about a penniless alcoholic who must fight off an increasingly complex array of costumed woodland creatures to win the heart of a fur trader’s daughter.

Weekend in Taipei

Dir. George Huang | Written by George Huang & Luc Besson | Action Thriller

A DEA agent reunites with his former lover, a transport driver working in the criminal underworld, to bring down a drug kingpin.

The Teacher’s Lounge

Dir. Ilker Çatak | Written by Johannes Duncker & Ilker Çatak | Psychological Drama

A teacher named Carla finds herself on the wrong side of the school system when she decides to investigate after her student is suspected of the theft of Carla’s own money from the teacher’s lounge.

Not Another Church Movie

Written & Directed by Johnny Mack | Comedy Parody

A send-up of Tyler Perry films about a filmmaker named Taylor Pherry who is commanded by God to make movies about his dysfunctional family.

All We Imagine as Light

Written & Directed by Payal Kapadia | Romantic Drama

A nurse receives an surprising gift from her estranged husband while her younger roommate struggles to find privacy in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend. They pair up for a trip to a beach town to find a space for their desires to manifest.

Rumours *

Written & Directed by Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson & Guy Maddin | Surreal Comedy

Canadian weirdos Guy Maddin and Evan and Galen Johnson riff on global politics as the G7 leaders face absurd Eldritch phenomena such as Volkswagen-sized brains and masturbating bog mummies while just trying to draft an opening statement about an unnamed global crisis.

Faith of Angels

Written & Directed by Garrett Batty | Christian Drama

Inspired by a true story of a man called by his faith to help in the search for a trapped boy in an abandoned mine.

Wildcat

Dir. Ethan Hawke | Written by Shelby Gaines & Ethan Hawke | Biopic

Ethan Hawke casts his daughter Maya to portray Flannery O’Conner’s struggle to publish her first novel.

The Brutalist *

Dir. Brady Corbet | Written by Mona Fastvold & Brady Corbet | Period Drama

An decades-spanning American epic about an Hungarian architect who immigrates to Pennsylvania and takes on a wealthy client with a big personality to build a monumental Bauhaus community center, in the hopes of getting his wife and niece passage to the US.

Exhibiting Forgiveness

Written & Directed by Titus Kaphar | Drama

An artist on the path to success is derailed by a visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile.

Snack Shack

Written & Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier | Comedy

90s comedy throwback about two friends who run the poolside snack shack for a summer job, using the space for boyish coming-of-age transgression

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That shows him! That one guy who probably has completely forgotten our debate and I’ll never see again!

Joking aside, the thing about a list like this is that it has enough information for the cynical to still find whatever fault they want to look for. It’s very easy to glance through and think “Oh but this is all just a bunch of horror” (20 movies) “faith-based Angel Studios” (7, plus two parodies) “and Bollywood stuff” (5 movies).

To be clear, this list covers every major genre and has a lot of wonky mixed genre and extremely unique stuff⁷ too. Here’s how I prefer to look at it:

Based off of the data I could find, the average American goes to see just two films a year, up to six when they’re between the ages of 16-24. For the majority of people reading this, who probably do not go to the movies nearly as much as I do, all you have to consider is how often you do go and find that many movies on this list you’d be interested in seeing in theatres.

I would proffer the argument that if you can’t find 2-6 movies on this list that look compelling, then the issue isn’t that Hollywood isn’t making original films anymore, the issue is that you’re not really interested enough in movies to find them. Which is fine, as long as filmmakers aren’t blamed for not producing to the tastes of people who don’t like movies.

For the rest, I would say that if you only go to the movies a couple to a half-dozen times a year, your box office choices could have a profound effect on both Hollywood’s and independent filmmaker’s bottom lines. Simply swapping one or two franchise film for an original concept script would be a major boon for filmmakers trying to tell new stories… and if it comes at the expense of franchise film receipts, would force studio execs to take notice.

(Parenthetical too important to hide in a footnote: unfortunately the further down you go on the list, the more limited the release was, often becoming more of a New York / LA thing. So on the one hand, people in major cities have particular responsibility to choose wisely, but on the other hand people outside the major cities are dealing with concordant issues of screen accessibility and title availability. This is a separate, larger subject, but nevertheless, original scripted films do get nationwide releases).

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These movies have already been released. It’s a lot harder to keep up with announced coming releases, which would have been a little more useful in recommending people forward rather than backward. That’s what stuff like

The Industry

is for.

I went ahead and went through all the trouble of making this list simply because in the end, I want a link to send people to whenever they say there are no new ideas in Hollywood. Yes there are. They are right here. Please give them a chance, unless your complaint becomes self-fulfilled prophecy.

Lastly, here are additional original scripted films I personally saw in movie theatres in 2024. These were indeed very limited releases, so much of their success lies in the home video market. Please consider renting or streaming:

Close Your Eyes

Dir. Victor Erice | Written by Victor Erice & Michel Gaztambide | Drama

Methodical filmmaker Erice takes his obsession about the craft and lives of artists in this fable about a filmmaker who cannot finish his movie until he finds his best friend and lead actor, who disappeared from set 30 years before.

The Sweet East

Dir. Sean Price Williams | Written by Nick Pinkerton | Drama

Former Kim’s Video clerk and indie darling cinematographer Sean Price Williams (who lensed Between the Temples, above) helms a solid recreation of No Wave cinema about a directionless college girl who wanders a fragmented America from subculture to subculture along the East Coast, from anarchic punks to lonely white supremacists to even a Muslim terrorist cell hiding out on farmland.

The People's Joker

Dir. by Vera Drew | Written by Vera Drew & Bri LeRose | Comedy

A lo-fi digital phantasmagoria and “Fair Use Parody” set in the DC universe Gotham about a trans stand-up comedian who takes on the gatekeepers of comedy while struggling through an abusive relationship and trying to come to terms with her alienated mother.

How to Have Sex

Written & Directed by Molly Manning Walker | Coming-of-Age Drama

A girl goes with her two best friends on a beach holiday after exams to get drunk and lose her virginity, but slowly has to contend with the rising realization that her hopes and aspirations of adulthood are not turning out the way she dreamed.

I Used to Be Funny

Written & Directed by Ally Pankiw | Dry Comedy Drama

A standup comedian who is struggling to get back on stage searches for the missing girl she used to nanny after the girl’s father raped her.

Bird

Written & Directed by Andrea Arnold | Drama

Surreal coming-of-age British kitchen sink drama about a young girl Bailey who tries to protect her siblings from her mother’s abusive boyfriend and avoid her father Bug’s marriage, until she runs across a mysterious stranger named Bird who is searching for his lost father.

Totém

Written & Directed by Lila Avilés | Drama

Mexican coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old named Sol who impatiently waits for her dying father’s surprise birthday party at the home of grandfather.

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Written & Directed by Joanna Arnow | Dry Comedy

Bone-dry series of circumstances and situationships surrounding a woman stuck in a sub relationship and searching for something better. Joanna Arnow is a filmmaker friend of mine.

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And lastly lastly, a film I know got very limited theatrical release but have seen and is available on streaming.

Claire Ayoub

is a friend of mine:

Empire Waist

Written & Directed Claire Ayoub | Comedy

Coming-of-age story about a shy highschooler struggling with her body image who is pushed by her brash new friend into designing clothes for all the various body-types of her classmates.

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That’s that. Go forth and watch original cinema.

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To read more Musing Outloud posts:

For Movie Recommendations (all free posts!):

1. Necessary term these days to explain why I count Barbie and Wicked as franchise films.

2

• No based on a book or a video game or a comic or anything more established than a proof of concept short. Technically there are a few biopics on the list but I only counted the ones that weren’t based off of a biography, at least as far as I know.

3

• This was the most challenging part and arbitrarily stripped a good 20 or so movies from the list, and was particularly brutal against animation and documentary because they aren’t composed in the same manner as a feature narrative. If I ever do this activity again I’m reneging this rule. But hey, that means this list should be much longer!

4

• For instance, The Brutalist is listed near the bottom but just released, and may quickly rise the ranks.

5. Angel Studios updated the title from simply Possum Trot to try to ride the success of their 2023 breakout hit The Sound of Freedom, otherwise the movie is unrelated and this does not count as a sequel.

6. “Thematic follow-up“ is my own choice of words, this is not a sequel.

7. Hundreds of Beavers, I Saw the TV Glow, Rumours, and Megalopolis are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, I assure you.