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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
6

What Hollywood Learned This Summer

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(Newser) – Hollywood is in the middle of an illuminating summer. The season started strong, with Star Trek, The Hangover, and Up, before things seriously cooled off, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some big releases await, but here are some of the lessons learned so far:

  • Playability has eclipsed marketability: Films with good word of mouth, like The Hangover, have done well, while Terminator and Wolverine fell flat in their second weekends.

  • Adult, star-driven dramas are in trouble: From State of Play to Duplicity, ticket buyers have stayed away.
  • Critics can’t hurt you: How else to explain Transformers’ success?
  • Old formulas look, well, old: Eddie Murphy family comedies used to be money in the bank, but Imagine That was anything but. Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost was an even costlier flop.
  • Women make a difference: Half the audience for The Hangover and Transformers had a second X chromosome.

In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Zach Galifianakis, left, Bradley Cooper, center, and Ed Helms are shown in a scene from
In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Zach Galifianakis, left, Bradley Cooper, center, and Ed Helms are shown in a scene from "The Hangover."   (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Frank Masi)
In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Will Ferrell, left, Anna Friel, center, and Danny McBride are shown in a scene from,
In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Will Ferrell, left, Anna Friel, center, and Danny McBride are shown in a scene from, "Land of the Lost."   (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)
In this film publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Megan Fox, left, and Shia LaBeouf are shown in a scene from
In this film publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Megan Fox, left, and Shia LaBeouf are shown in a scene from "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."   (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Jaimie Trueblood)
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6 comments
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texasaurus
Jul 9, 09 10:18 AM CDT
Hey Hollywood! We want action, robots, wizards, zombies, dinosaurs and boobies. Combine these elements into a movie with just enough plot to butter a sammich and you've got a winner. tex P.S. If you even think about remaking another old TV show like Gilligans Island or Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, I will personally come out there and smack you upside the head. Reply
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+4
Mad
Jul 9, 09 12:41 PM CDT
Start smackin', son - Hollywood lives for the sequel. Retro is in: Whats old is new again. Why bother with a new story line and character development when you got a built in audience anxious to spend $10 to get the next installment of video drivel. I pass Reply
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0
kokuaguy
Jul 9, 09 12:44 PM CDT
If I want TV reruns I'll watch old Donna Reed shows on HULU. Reply
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Mr.C
Jul 9, 09 5:27 PM CDT
"Half the audience for The Hangover and Transformers had a second X chromosome." ...so.. that is like... proportionate to the number of males to females in the world. Reply
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
Jes
Jul 9, 09 9:00 PM CDT
It's the same thing when they speak of demographics and go only by age until they reach "18 to 29 Males." Awesome, so my money and interest counts as nothing until I hit 30?
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