Gore Makes Bloody Mess of Studios' Bottom Lines

Bored, oversaturated audiences flee horror flicks
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 9, 2007 2:09 PM CDT

Hollywood horror flicks are failing to rake in the cash at the box office, the LA Times reports, and some execs are starting to fear a spreading gore-phobia. Hollywood upped its horror output this year, banking on the films' relatively inexpensive production costs and traditionally stellar box-office performances to translate into fat profit margins. But audiences are failing to show.

This year’s fancy slasher pics, like Hillary Swank's April tank "The Reaping," are struggling to cover costs; cheap spin-offs are faring even worse. The genre will have to reinvent itself in order to recover, thanks in large part to audiences who have seen it all. "There's nothing you can do to a human being on screen that is taboo anymore," says one writer-producer. (More Hollywood stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X