Hollywood executives lately have been suffering sleepless nights, queasy stomachs, profuse sweating and bouts of incontinence. No one seems to have correctly diagnosed what ails them, which is odd because the malady isn't difficult to pinpoint. Even without a medical degree, I can do it without a single invasive procedure. Studio officials are suffering from massive moviegoer indifference, a condition triggered by a startling lack of originality in many recent releases. Domestic movie grosses have declined for 18 consecutive weekends, the longest slump on record. This is perplexing only until you realize that, in one form or another, people already have seen most of last weekend's top money-makers. Consider: "Batman Begins" -- Was a retelling of the Caped Crusader's origins really necessary after his previous cinematic escapades in "Batman," "Batman Returns," "Batman Forever," "Batman & Robin," and, I believe, "Batman in Grouchland"? "Bewitched" -- Contains many thematic similarities to the classic 1960s sitcom about a housewife who happens to be a witch. Convinced a standard remake would flop, Sony Pictures instead made the movie about an attempt to remake a classic 1960s sitcom about a housewife who happens to be a witch. Clever. "Herbie: Fully Loaded" -- Talk about a retread. Disney is attempting to get additional mileage out of the heavily traveled Volkswagen Beetle that starred in "The Love Bug," "Herbie Rides Again," "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo," and "Herbie Goes Bananas." "The Longest Yard" -- Unquestionably the best movie about a prison football team since 1974's "The Longest Yard." "Land of the Dead" -- Pittsburgh filmmaker George Romero resurrected the tired zombie franchise that includes, "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," and "Day of the Dead." The next installment is rumored to be "Brunch with the Dead." Perhaps the box office slump will end this weekend, with the revenues expected from the latest Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise blockbuster, "War of the Worlds," which opened nationwide Wednesday. If the title sounds familiar, that's because the thriller is based loosely on the 1953 film of the same name and the 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast, both of which were adapted from the 1898 H.G. Wells novel. I'm tempted to say Hollywood's problems are reminiscent of the old Yogi Berra saying, "This is like deja vu all over again." But that line has been used countless times, and I doubt the discerning reader would finish reading a column containing such derivative material.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---