In summers past, Hollywood used to give audiences a break from all
the action-packed sequels targeted to teenage boys. Usually, that came
in the form of counterprogramming known as the romantic comedy. For most
of the late ’90s,
Julia Roberts carried the genre: she opened 1997’s
“My Best Friend’s Wedding,”
which grossed nearly $300 million worldwide, against the disastrous
“Batman and Robin.” She was also the star of such summertime hits as
1999’s “Notting Hill” ($364 million worldwide), “Runaway Bride” ($309
million) and 2001’s “America’s Sweethearts” ($138 million), which marked
the end of her reign as the queen of romantic comedies.
One of the reasons that the summer of 2014 has been so catastrophic, with box office grosses
down 18 percent,
is the glut of indistinguishable product. Every movie, from
“Transformers 4” to “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” feels like a photocopy
of something that came before it. But the biggest profit margins aren’t
always tied to CGI or comic book stories. For proof, look no further
than the weepy melodrama “The Fault in Our Stars,” which has so far
grossed $263 million worldwide despite its tiny budget of $12 million.
Read more
For
more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?
No comments:
Post a Comment