Studios surprised to learn that fun movies without stars out-gross dull star vehicles
Hollywood has never been quick to pick up on trends, and studios this summer are only just now beginning to realize what most of us have known all along: most supposed movie stars can’t actually sell tickets, especially when the movie is boring. One after another, movies starring “bankable” actors like Denzel Washington, Will Ferrell and Jack Black have bombed. The biggest hits have mostly been films where the franchise is the real star, like Transformers, Star Trek, and Pixar’s Up, plus some low-budget light comedies (like The Hangover and The Proposal). The lesson studios are taking from this news is that they need to depend more on “the kind of brand awareness you get from pre-sold titles.” Apparently they’re not taking the lesson we do: nobody wants to see Land of the Lost, even with Will Ferrell in it.