Hollywood has spent the better part of a decade chasing the same sure things - superheroes, legacy sequels, and anything with a built-in fanbase - so it was only a matter of time before the industry started asking the awkward question out loud: what's actually next? That's the conversation IndieWire's "Pitch Me" panel recently took on, with a group of industry insiders gathering to debate which genre is poised to become Hollywood's next big obsession. The short answer: nobody agrees, and that's kind of the point.
The Consensus (and the Lack of One)
The panel format itself tells you something about the moment we're in. "Pitch Me" is built around filmmakers and executives making the case for the kinds of projects they think deserve a greenlight, and this installment turned that energy toward the broader question of genre. Rather than settling on a single heir apparent to the comic-book throne, the conversation bounced between contenders - horror, romance, thrillers, and everything in between. The panelists didn't hand down a verdict so much as they mapped out the terrain, which feels honest given how unpredictable the last few years at the box office have been.
If there was a recurring thread, it's that the next trend probably won't look like the last one. The superhero era was defined by franchise scaffolding and shared universes; the chatter from the panel leaned toward genres that can be made at more modest scales, with clearer hooks and room for original storytelling.
Horror Keeps Refusing to Die
It's hard to have this conversation without mentioning horror, and the panelists didn't shy away from it. The genre has been the industry's most dependable over-performer for years now - cheap to produce, endlessly adaptable, and reliably capable of turning a modest investment into a cultural event. What's changed is the range. Horror now comfortably absorbs social commentary, comedy, family drama, and high-concept weirdness, which makes it less a single genre than a flexible container for just about anything.
The catch, as the panelists seemed to acknowledge, is that a trend stops being a trend once everyone piles in. Horror's low barrier to entry is exactly what makes it appealing to studios and exactly what risks flooding the market with forgettable imitations. The genre's future likely depends on filmmakers finding new angles rather than studios churning out variations on whatever worked last quarter.
Romance and the Theatrical Comeback
Another thread worth flagging: the romance revival. For years, the conventional wisdom held that romantic comedies and love stories were streaming fodder, doomed to premiere on a couch near you. But audiences have shown up for big-screen romance in ways that surprised the people who write the checks, and the panel conversation reflected that shift. There's a real hunger for movies that give viewers a reason to leave the house together - dates, groups, the whole ritual. Romance offers that in a way that a CGI-heavy tentpole sometimes can't, simply because it's built around human connection rather than spectacle.
Thrillers, Originality, and the Mid-Budget Bet
The panelists also circled around thrillers and mid-budget original films - the kind of movies that dominated the '90s and got squeezed out as studios consolidated around mega-franchises. The appeal is obvious: a twisty thriller with a strong hook and a recognizable cast doesn't need a $250 million budget to get people talking. It needs a great trailer and a reason to care. The bet is that as franchise fatigue deepens, audiences will gravitate toward movies that feel like events without requiring homework.
What It All Means for Moviegoers
The takeaway from the panel isn't a prophecy - it's a snapshot of an industry genuinely uncertain about its next move, and that uncertainty is arguably good news. When Hollywood doesn't know what works, it takes more swings, and more swings mean more original ideas getting a shot. Whether the next wave turns out to be horror, romance, thrillers, or some hybrid nobody's pitched yet, the panelists made one thing clear: the era of betting everything on a single formula is losing its grip.
For now, moviegoers can enjoy the chaos. The next big thing is out there somewhere - probably in a pitch meeting, waiting for someone to say yes.
Source: IMDb