Bombs Over Hollywood

Hollywood is hurting, big time, just when the industry should be counting the cash earned by its Oscar-bait releases.

Just tally up the recent bombs: “The Last Witch Hunter.” “Crimson Peak.” “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.” “Sicario.” “Pan.” “Jem and the Holograms.” “Freeheld.” “Truth.” “Rock the Kasbah.” “Steve Jobs.” “Our Brand Is Crisis.” “Burnt.” “The Walk.”

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The movies represent an array of film genres — award-season fodder, populist entertainment, indie movie options and CGI-laden wonders. And these weren’t films featuring lesser-known actors. Consider the stars attached to these vehicles — Bill Murray, Hugh Jackman, Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper, Sandra Bullock, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julianne Moore, Emily Blunt, Vin Diesel and Michael Fassbender.

What does it all mean?

• Stars don’t matter anymore: Once upon a time audiences flocked to a movie if it starred John Wayne or Cary Grant. Today, potential moviegoers care more about the movie, the brand or the story being told far more than any given actor attached to it. “Rock the Kasbah” represents a pure star vehicle for Murray, a universally adored actor who resonates with audiences young and old. Its opening weekend box office haul? A mere $1.5. million.
• Out-of-touch Hollywood: Was anyone clamoring to see a film detailing the RatherGate press scandal, even if it was told in an accurate fashion that “Truth” avoided? Who greenlights such a project?
• News travels fast: In the Internet Age, you can just look up the movies at your local theater to find a good one. Rotten Tomatoes gives “Kasbah” a 7 percent “fresh” rating? Pass. No more seeing films blind — or listening to your friends who always recommend the worst movies.
• It’s the quality, stupid: Many of the aforementioned films got slammed by critics, and for very good reasons. “Burnt” is a mess when it strays outside the kitchen. “Our Brand Is Crisis” has no idea what kind of story it wants to tell. Audiences often can suss out a dud from the trailer alone, and likely they did so several times this season.
• TV is cheaper, more convenient … and better: Some of the best stories being told aren’t on the big screen. We’re in a new golden age of TV content, a time when stirring dramas are waiting for us to binge watch them for a fraction of the cost of a night at the movies.

The new film “Suffragette,” which has stumbled early in its release schedule, arrives with all the awards season gravitas any film could muster. The movie, starring Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter, examines the battle to secure voting rights for women. And yet, look at one of the promotional efforts behind the movie.

The #HopeForOurDaughters movement and video plays up the struggle women are having across the world in 2015. It’s a serious issue, even if the video gets rather fuzzy on the details. Is that how audiences want to spend a Saturday night, watching a movie attached to such a somber campaign?

Compare that to “The Martian,” one of the season’s few hits. It’s an optimistic tale that showcases heroism, tenacity and a never-say-die attitude out in space. Plus, you know, Mars.

Now, the upcoming debuts of the latest James Bond movie, “Spectre,” the final “Hunger Games” installment and a certain sequel set in a “Galaxy Far, Far Away” will change the industry’s fortunes dramatically. No matter how many people flock to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” come Dec. 18, though, it doesn’t change the fact that Hollywood may be losing its populist touch.

Audiences may always flock to the dozen or so popcorn blockbusters prepared for their entertainment each year. What about the rest of the year’s releases? Is the Fall of 2015 an anomaly, or does it signal a Fall for Tinseltown?