Summer may be sunny at the movies
Chris Hicks
This is also a signal that big-budget, comic-book/superhero movies weren't such a bad investment for studios wanting to provide their shareholders with a profitable 2008.
And plenty of those films will arrive in the weeks ahead. Despite the halting economy. Or maybe because of it.
An economic downturn often means good news for the motion-picture industry, something that's been true since the Great Depression, when moviegoers went to musicals and comedies and Westerns and gangster flicks to forget their troubles.
In fact, a hit song from the 1930s begins, "Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy" — and that was the main reason people went to the movies. Still is.
Of course, in the '30s, you got more bang for your buck.
For a single admission ticket, you could spend four or five hours in your neighborhood theater and see an A-list feature with big stars, a lower-budget B-movie with lesser stars, a cartoon, a comedy short or travelogue, a newsreel and a string of trailers. (Warner Home Video has attempted to replicate the experience on a number of DVDs, the latest being "Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3.")
Our desire to escape from financial or work woes still drives us to the movies, but these days we also have a lot more entertainment options to keep us at home. Factor in the rising cost of movie tickets, baby-sitters, snacks, gassing up the car — and sometimes even parking fees — and it has to be something special to get us out of the house.
However, unlike the old days, most modern movies are aimed at ages 14 to 24 — the most avid moviegoers and those most likely go to the same titles over and over.
Comic-book flicks help drive that demographic, and they don't have to be good to be hits. Expanding the definition of "comic-book movie" a bit to include other cartoonish action films, just look at last year's Big Three: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Spider-Man 3."
But "Iron Man's" box-office success, coupled with good reviews and positive word of mouth, could expand this summer's audience by sparking interest among moviegoers who would otherwise take a pass.
"Iron Man" is surprisingly good, benefiting from an inventive look, a sardonic sense of humor and an unlikely leading man — Robert Downey Jr., who also happens to be a talented actor of great range.
Likewise, "The Incredible Hulk," a do-over after the 2003 box-office flop "Hulk"; "Wanted," about a league of assassins; and "Speed Racer," which opens today, also star respected actors who seem at first glance to be unlikely prospects for their roles — respectively, Edward Norton ("The Illusionist"), James McAvoy ("Atonement") and Emile Hirsch ("Into the Wild").
Then there are the sequels — to the Indiana Jones series, "Hellboy," "Batman Begins," "The Mummy," "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The X-Files."
If just half of these flicks are as good as "Iron Man," summer could indeed be quite sunny.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com
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