The theaters are currently being dominated by Superman, the reboot of the iconic DC character, the latest in the blockbusting Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Marvel’s answer to DC’s super-success, Fantastic Four: First Steps. It is easy to think that big-budget, studio films are dominating the market, but if we investigate the full scope of cinema today a different picture emerges, one that prioritises artistic vision.
Auteur is the French word for author and the term “auteur cinema” was coined by François Truffaut in 1954 to refer to films driven by the director. Unlike major studio directors who simply followed a script that was handed to them, auteurs had full control over their scripting, directing, and editing. They focused on expressing their own point of view rather than what was studio-mandated and focus-group approved.
In the U.S., the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s took auteur theory to heart. Shunning the studio system, directors such as Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, and Stanley Kubrick found success with their unique and personal films. However, the era was not to last. Mismanagement of sets and schedules was common, and many directors succumbed to their own vices. Audiences, too, grew bored of the cynical, naval gazing of many of these films and wanted a return to the optimism of the 1950s. The success of films like Jaws (1975) and Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope (1977) placed the focus back on sprawling, commercial blockbusters. Indeed, the Star Wars franchise remains a giant in theaters and streaming today.
So, is art dead? As is often the case, no. One must simply know where to look. The success of the vampire movie Sinners (2025), earning $365 million worldwide, made it the highest grossing original live-action film since Inception in 2010. In a market where franchises and pre-existing properties are hailed as safe bets for commercial success, auteur Ryan Coogler showed that a film made with creativity, passion, and skill could be just as, if not more, profitable. Having directed the much renowned Black Panther (2018) as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Coogler was now free to explore his own artistry without constraints while still focusing on the themes that unite his filmography: the African American experience and the importance of one’s roots.
Sinners is following a trend in auteur vampire cinema, as last Christmas saw Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu (2024) enter theaters, horrifying and delighting its audience in equal measure. While not as financially successful, Nosferatu was critically lauded and built upon this new age of artistic horror cinema. Jordan Peele’s trio of horror films, Get Out (2017), Us (2019), and Nope (2022), exemplify this new horror and show his full capabilities as an auteur-director. His thematic focus on the horror faced by Black Americans daily and the rot at the heart of our society struck a chord with audiences that is still reverberating; its echoes are felt through Sinners.
Peele founded MonkeyPaw Productions in 2012, his own film and television company that allowed him to exert full control over his productions. He has additionally made it a platform for other auteurs to work their magic without studio interference or worries about profitability. The action-thriller Monkey Man (2024), written, directed, and starring Dev Patel, was saved by Peele after Netflix showed concerns about realising the picture. Artists helping other artists and creating systems that work with them rather than against them is the prominent goal of this new age of auteur cinema.
Studios such as Focus Features and A24 make a home for wayward auteurs and share their work with the world. They produce films by a sundry set of artists such as the straight-faced eccentric Ethan Coen, the poetic master of horror Robert Eggers, the decadently thrilling Ti West, the horrifyingly confusing Ari Aster, and the consistently quirky Wes Anderson. While general audiences may only be peripherally aware of these artists, film fans are delighted and flock to the theatre in droves. A24 has inspired its own fanbase amongst younger film fans for their interesting auteur cinema.
In all artforms, tastes change, and trends rise and fall. Cinema is no exception. The studio system of the ‘40s and ‘50s was overtaken by the New Hollywood of the ‘70s which was in-turn subsumed by the blockbuster of the ‘80s and the technology-forward franchises of the 2000s. Certain audiences have once again grown bored of such stale fare as the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe entry and Disney live-action remakes. An audience for auteur cinema exists and is only growing by the day. As young filmmakers crop up and find studios and festivals in which to produce and showcase their talents, auteur cinema finds itself with more diverse voices than ever: women, people of color, and queer filmmakers are finally having their voices heard and echoed.
As the old guard of American auteur cinema ages, many are worried about the future of cinema as an artistic form of expression. The unfortunate passing of David Lynch came as a particularly violent jolt.. Looking at filmmakers of today and the passionate fans who wholeheartedly devote themselves to cinema, however, I do not think we need to be too worried.
The auteur never truly dies.