The Indie Revolution: Has Hollywood Lost Its Edge?
Why major studios are relying on big names, as indie studios like A24 steal the show.
BY Bree Lauder-Williams ★ July 13th, 2025
Design: Zoe Xixis
Is Hollywood having an identity crisis?
Hollywood has a problem. Gone are the days of originality and creativity, as the movie industry is being inundated with remakes, sequels and films that are subpar at best. I've personally never seen “Star Wars,” but seriously, how many Jedi do you need?
As news editor Garry Lu puts it, Hollywood movies have lost their “soul.” Some call it laziness, others say it's a lack of creativity. I attribute it to the economics of risk.
The revenue of Hollywood’s six major studios — Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Sony – has been declining at a steady rate of 8%. Film studios are now less likely to produce original content because they fear not being able to make the filming budget back in sales, opting instead to rely on nostalgia and a star-studded cast to bring in viewers.
The problem? Audiences don't want to see the same stories — with the same actors — over and over again. The audience wants something unique, and indie studios are listening.
What is A24?
A24 was founded in 2012 as a film production company based in New York City, strictly working on the distribution side before solidifying itself as a truly innovative movie studio.
A24 stands out compared to most major studios because they aren't adhering to outdated formulas. A24 doesn't promote their movies traditionally; they create hype through GIFs and memes, like the time they gifted viewers creepy dolls to promote the film “Hereditary.”
Their promotional content isn’t the only thing they’re doing differently: it’s the commitment to producing high-quality scripts and film concepts that keeps audiences coming back for more. From “Midsommar” and the “X” trilogy to “Lady Bird” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” lots of viral films have come from the company.
In addition to their truly impressive film slate, A24 released their first TV show, “Overcompensating” in May, earning the studio yet another almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, establishing what a lot of us already know: sometimes risk does pay off…
Short-form…like TikTok?
Don't laugh…but you know those TikTok ads that appear every few scrolls? The titles go something like, “My Husband’s a Secret Billionaire,” or my personal favorite: “Love on the Sidelines.” Unfortunately, I watch them every time they pop up on my FYP, and although I never pay to watch the rest, other people do.
Apps like DramaBox and Short Reel generate millions of dollars in the U.S., and billions in Korea and China. These short-form dramas are seldom rehearsed or fully fleshed out. So, why do viewers keep watching them?
For one, with all the episodes taken together, these short-form series are typically only about an hourlong. People who don't have the time to sit down and invest in eight 40-minute-long episodes prefer these fast-paced shows. And secondly, these platforms aren’t afraid to try something new. On paper, a show like “Accidentally Pregnant with the Alpha” doesn't sound like something people want to watch, but it's so out there that people will tune in just to say they tried.
These platforms are innovative with both their shows and marketing; they know their audience and strategically promote content through TikTok or Instagram.
What does all this mean for Hollywood?
The major Hollywood studios have two options: evolve or continue to fade into the background with their mostly stale material and occasionally mediocre shows. There is a formula that works…it just doesn’t involve pumping $200 million into the next franchise.
If these studios want to stay in the movie game, they’ll need to stop clinging to nostalgia like it’s a lifeline — that will only be an anchor dragging them deeper into the waters of Gen Z irrelevancy. Instead of rebooting the same story for the 12th time, why not take a chance on new writers, diverse creators and concepts that reflect where society is now?
The best way for the Big Six to do this is to return to their roots, operate like they’re starting from scratch and stop chasing blockbusters.
Mid-budget movies create more room for creativity by having only one actor or actress, that people like, draw in viewers, and by using their notoriety to create an imaginative and unique story. In turn, mid-budget cinema will provide more spaces for actors to be discovered by mainstream Hollywood, ending the actor fatigue some viewers are currently feeling.
Also, bring back 26-episode seasons! Will they take longer to produce? Yes…but you can flesh out more characters, and audiences will care when *spoiler alert* Harwin Strong dies instead of having to Google who he is.
A Rewrite, Not a Reboot!
Hollywood doesn’t need another sequel…it needs a rewrite. If the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that audiences are hungry for the unexpected, whether a quirky, imaginative work like “Poor Things,” an emotionally taxing character study like “Aftersun” or the chaotic unhingeness of “The Bear.” These stories aren't afraid to be intimate, strange or raw. I, and many others, love them because they don't rely on franchise fame or recycled tropes…they rely on a vision. That's what we're missing in Hollywood.
Major studios need to stop asking what’s guaranteed to make money and start asking what’s worth making. It’s not just about aesthetics or trends, it’s about trusting bold ideas, strange scripts and people who don’t already have ten Emmys on their shelf.
A24 gets this. TikTok gets this. Audiences get this. It’s time for Hollywood to catch up.