Chris Pratt in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (Disney – Marvel)

The summer movie season is over and if there was anything to be learned, it’s this: If your movie is based on a comic book, there’s a good chance it’ll make an obscene amount of money.

Guardians of the Galaxy was unequivocally the movie of the summer. For good reason, mind you. It had everything you would expect from a summer blockbuster. Action, adventure, explosions, talking raccoons, and beautiful green women.

It also has grossed over $250 million domestically since its release in early August. Marvel’s most recent effort is the highest-grossing movie of the summer, and the only to reach a quarter-billion dollars.

Four Marvel-based movies were released in 2014. Three more will come in 2015, and another four are tapped for 2016. Fourteen Marvel films have been released since 2010, grossing over $9 billion worldwide.

Iron Man and Captain America in ‘The Avengers’ (Disney)

There are certainly creative, original movies still being made. This summer saw the premiere of Boyhood, an incredible film shot over the course of 13 years, which captured the small, subtle moments of life with intricate detail and care. It was stunning. It grossed $25 million worldwide, or 10% of Guardians’ domestic box office.

Another equally excellent film was A Most Wanted Man, a spy-thriller featuring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances. The film was taut and gripping, Hoffman was absolutely incredible, and you probably didn’t see it because it was only released in 361 theaters in the U.S.

Perhaps it isn’t that originality is dying, it’s that originality isn’t all that profitable.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Willem Dafoe in ‘A Most Wanted Man’ (Kerry Brown, Roadside Attractions)

Hollywood is a business, not an art gallery. Why would a production company put its neck on the line for an unknown entity when there is proven alternative with a built in fanbase and formula for success?

These two types of movies also show a growing trend in the way movies are made and greenlit — production companies either want to spend a ton of money on a story they think will be a massive, international hit…or they want to spend a very small amount of money to finance an indie. Gone are the days of the mid-budget movie. It’s all or nothing.

Comic books have proven to be a billion-dollar boon for Hollywood that goes far beyond ticket sales. You can make a Chris Pratt as Star-Lord action figure; sadly, there isn’t the same market for Philip Seymour Hoffman as Günther Bachmann from A Most Wanted Man.

So comic book movies are going to continue, as they should. They make money, people love them, and they’re usually awesome (except Spider-Man 3 and Ghost Rider). But maybe in between bites of Captain America and whatever J.J. Abrams’ reboot is on tap, take a few hours to watch one of the little indie films that could.

You might even enjoy it a little.