Why is this summer so lackluster?

I've had many conversations lately about the validity of the remark "it's been a terrible summer season." For what it's worth, I agree with them, 2010 has been a terrible summer so far for movie goers, as we are treated to sequel after sequel, and rehashing of stale material, which leaves the box office extremely low for the year, and the movie goers uninspired. So, what is causing this dark cloud of crappy cinema? Well, there are a few reasons, but it's much more fun to speculate. Why do you think it's so crappy? Use the damn comments section, and tell me!

If you read the movie blogs, some who claim to be among the enlightened movie snobs will tell you that it's because studios have listened to fanboys for too long, and given them what they've wanted. As a result, fanboys, who are notoriously hard to please aren't happy, and of course, no one besides a fanboy will see fanboy-fodder, resulting in rehashing and rebooting and squeezing that sponge until it's dry. A good example of this idea is the comic book movies that have come out. With so many popping up, it's like eating 10 chocolate bars a day for a week. By the end of the week, you probably don't want chocolate anymore, for at least a while, anyway.

Another possible explanation is the lack of bravery in studios, where studio execs want the surest bet they will get their money back, or make a profit, and sadly, the surest bet is on a pre-existing property, which means sequels, reboots, or remakes. This includes everything from the A-Team to Shrek 4, and as a result, it makes some money, but it results in a decreasing slide of profits at the tactic continues. Instead of making Shrek 17, or Jaws 11, studios should be looking for this year's Paranormal Activity.

The final, and most interesting theory I've got is the laziness factor. You can blame everything from DVR's, to On Demand movies to Netflix with this theory, but the idea goes, that it is so easy to not get off your couch, people are just sitting back and relaxing, waiting for their favorite movies to be only a remote control button away. While this is a great reason for the fall of Blockbuster, I am not sure how detrimental it is to theaters. I do think it presents studios with a challenge on how to market the sale of DVD's, and even how early to release the DVD. Disney seems to be a good example, as they tried to get Alice in Wonderland out a mere 2 months after the film exited theaters, capitalizing on the huge marketing campaign they had. It makes sense, but if studios continue that trend, than, maybe it is a factor.

So, overall, those are three well thought out reasons for the lackluster summer season. In my opinion, it all comes down to Hollywood not coming up with anything original or worthwhile. If we could have one really original script or film franchise this year, maybe that idea could be proven. It's still young, and we have Inception coming out in a few weeks, which could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Tell me your thoughts in the comments section