We really should drop this snobbery of "sci-fi is superior to fantasy" and I say that as someone who prefers sci-fi over fantasy. The only difference between the two is that sci-fi tries to pretend there's a rational explanation for everything while fantasy is content to leave it at "it's a magic, a wizard did it." Truth is, a lot of the science most sci-fi uses to rationalize its material is often completely bogus it might as well be fantastical.You really think so? I don't agree at all. Star Wars is more fantasy. Star Trek to me is classic sci-fi.
Truth is, Star Wars is sci-fi, as everything in it has a rational explanation. The only thing close to being fantastical, the Force dose have a scientific explanation, bogus though it may be.
A common mistake people seem to be making about Interstellar and The Martian is that people are drawn to them because they're sci-fi movies. I doubt most of the audiences give a shit about the science in either movies. It is again, the character elements of both movies that draws people in, particularly The Martian since half the movie is just Matt Damon on his own making video journal entries. Interstellar does have some effective emotional moments, which even generate something in my own cold, hard heart.Even slow sci-fi movies make money (Interstellar, The Martian). You just need good writers who can tell a compelling story and a proper marketing team.
But, the science fiction elements in those movies definitely aren't their draw. Interstellar's sci-fi elements are second-rate and anyone with any familiarity with the genre would find them actually rather tedious. For example, I went in with no spoilers and had the whole movie predicted within forty minutes. The Martian is hardly sci-fi, just a standard lone castaway trying to survive until rescued story, this time set on another planet. Granted, it is well researched in its depictions of space travel and what living on Mars could be like, but I'm sure that was only a factor for a small minority of the audience, if any in seeing the movie.