The summer box office is going downward.

But the moviegoers aren’t the problem in this case…

This article was originally published in theDen of Geekmagazine SDCC special edition.Click here to view the full issue.

The American box office is fine this year.

You should, because its the truth.

Could moviegoing possibly be dying?

Its an enticing rationalization for this seemingly annual quagmire.

By comparison, almost everything else in the early summer seemed to be doom and gloom.

Its a disheartening trend for moviemakers and one that should be studied and learned from.

But perhaps the solution was already gift-wrapped for studio decision-makers in 2017.

And yet, an interesting thing happened in the margins.

Whereas the summer movie season tends to target four-quadrant audiences (i.e.

Nevertheless, this spring saw movies that might have that appeal without being specifically engineered for a chosen audience.

For their efforts, they were rewarded not only with Oscar love but a massive embrace by the public.

Neither cost more than $30 million to produce.

Meanwhile seasonal genre offerings both saw two eyebrow raising nine-figure earners in North America.

Also similar toLa La Land, it sets up no prequels, sequels, or shared universes.

But it gives a definitively satisfying story.

Perhaps though the most telling of the traditional blockbusters in 2017 remainsLogan.

The second the movie is R, those two boxes for children disappear.

Theyre off the table.

That means you lose pressure about scene length.

You lose the worry of, can you talk about that in front of children?

Can the scene go on longer than 28 seconds?

The latter is also fairly unique for a modern blockbuster,.

Even a superhero movie can still be refreshing with the right directorial hand in this age of endless repetition.

In contrast to Patty Jenkins marvelous affection forWonder Woman,The Mummyappeared to be part of a marketing strategy.

In theory, it wasnt supposed to.

It was supposed to be good business.

IfThe Mummyis a horror monster, then make Tom Cruise the new face of all Egyptian magic going forward.

Thats what audiences want, right?

Judging by howKing Arthurhas failed to clear $40 million domestically, I would say not.

This does not mean the box office or moviegoing is in trouble.

It turns out, the interest in moviegoing is just as enduring.

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