35 of the 50 highest grossing movies of all time have all been released within the past decade. With all these films earning over one billion dollars worldwide, it makes sense to assume that all of them are highly acclaimed, renowned masterpieces truly making a permanent dent in pop culture. However, most of these films on this list are a part of existing franchises, earning money simply because they exist. When is the last time you have heard someone reference “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014) or “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), especially in a positive light? There is something to be noted that a movie’s budget and respective profit does not necessarily correlate with its quality. 

“I think that the current age of blockbuster movies is overrated. Yes, there are hits, and lots of people like them, but to me, it is not good entertainment. The plot is confusing and complicated and there is no general storyline; once the movie is a hit, there are continuous sequels to it, which makes it more annoying. They just do not blow me away or get to my emotions like I would want in a movie, to me [they are] a waste of time,” Mica Burton, junior, said. 

Obviously, taste in any media is based on one’s opinion. Most people are subjected to exclusive movies that are popular and have high budgets; therefore, this builds their opinions around that content style. Look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe: with 31 movies released in the past 15 years, all of them have cleared their budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars, almost guaranteeing themselves to earn back several times that number. Despite reviews for these movies being more negative in recent times, such as with “Eternals” (2021) and “Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023), millions of people are still dedicated to the Marvel franchise, despite its misfires. 

“I do not believe a budget inherently increases the quality of a movie, as there have been many low-budget successes, and many stinkers that have had some of the highest in all of cinema. Take for example two films, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ The former is the most expensive MCU movie and is also known as one of the worst ones. ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ is a movie with the highest budget in the series; the scenes and set pieces show [well], especially with the team behind it,” Grayson Westbrook, senior, said. 

In 1999, “The Blair Witch Project” was released with a measly budget of $200,000. Despite this, it earned back over a hundred times the production budget in the box office and created a pop culture impact so powerful that it called for several remakes in the decades to come, contrasting the current age of franchises. Similarly, director David Lynch’s 1977 cult classic “Eraserhead” was made with a budget of only $10,000 but is now considered one of surrealist horror’s staples. The internet has also been a haven of content created with very little or even no budget at all; YouTube and other related video websites host passion projects that are limited in audience but, perhaps, are personal and effective. A friend’s funny video may genuinely have more influence on someone compared to the latest blockbuster. 

“A personal attachment to a video or movie affects the overall quality a large amount. Everyone has an opinion on something out there, good or bad, but having a personal attachment is more having an emotional bias to it. I may think a video or movie is uninteresting, but someone else could have a personal attachment to an experience or feeling in the story, understanding more about it than I do and getting emotional value from it,” Francisco Palacios, senior, said. 

With these arguments being noted, there are still plenty of outliers at either end of the spectrum. Many expensive Pixar movies have won numerous awards in terms of quality, and the 2008 superhero film “The Dark Knight” remains one of the highest rated movies on multiple film-based websites. Immersion does not always equate to a great film; however, it can help tell the story in a completely different way. Individualism triumphs over following the bandwagon when it comes to finding the best personalized movies, no matter how expensive or cheap they may be.