The undeniable trend in Hollywood has recently skewed heavily in the direction of franchises. Sure, the entertainment business has always been risk-averse — turning to big-name properties to sell tickets — but with the proliferation of shared universes, that approach has been amplified to ridiculous levels.

Still, while we occasionally lament the overabundance of blockbuster films in the industry, there are still a good number of original ones that make their way to the big screen. One such filmmaker, however, who is able to bring original ideas to the BIG screen — and do so with a hefty budget, to boot — is Christopher Nolan.

According to the outlet Quartz latest film was the war drama, Dunkirk, is the highest grossing original film of the year. However, before we delve into its success, I think it’s only fair to throw in a couple big asterisks behind that claim. Dunkirk was not only based on true events, but a book of the same name. So calling it a “wholly original” wouldn’t be completely accurate. Also, straight-up, there are two other “original” films that could be argued to have taken the crown.

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For starters, the adaptation of Stephen King’s IT took in nearly $700 million. While it is based on a novel, it’s arguable that it’s as “original” as Dunkirk, which also has source material. That being said, I can accept an argument that Dunkirk is more original in nature, and didn’t follow the plot of a specific story. Fair enough, let’s move on.

Pixar’s wholly original film Coco has taken in nearly $550 million worldwide, narrowly beating out Dunkirk, but beating it out nonetheless. This is, without a doubt, a completely unique story, and we’d put it up there as the highest grossing original film of 2017.

That being said, we’re sure there are those who would argue that Coco doesn’t count because it’s animated, and it’s Pixar. Okay, picky reader, fine. If we’re okay with a film having source material that isn’t a novel, and we add in the caveat that the film has to be live-action, then yes, Dunkirk is the big winner here.

All jokes aside, there is no denying that Dunkirk was a risk, and we applaud its boldness in making a film with virtually no dialogue. It really put all the emphasis on the capable filmmaking prowess of Nolan.

Who do you think is the big winner for 2017 on the “original” front? Let us know which version of “original” you agree with!

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SOURCE: Quartz