If there is anything to take away from the summer 2016 boxoffice season, it's that superheroes and talking animals reign supreme. From hype-train payoffs like "Captain America: Civil War" and "Finding Dory" to breakout hits such as "The Secret Life of Pets" and "Suicide Squad," Hollywood certainly has some jewels to gloat about entering the fall. However, beyond these crowning achievements lays a scorched field of underperforming sequels and failed reboots that live up to the very term, "boxoffice bomb." Remember all of the press surrounding proposed hits, "Ghostbusters" and "Independence Day: Resurgence?" Well, now they have fallen into the void of commercial obscurity along with would-be smash hits, "Ben-Hur" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Not Secret of the Ooze." When looking at the track record of these films one has to wonder how the Hollywood train is still going and what is drawing audiences away from the silver screen other than the obvious; a lack of risk on originality.

First off, it is important to note that a majority of the financial gross for the average blockbuster these days comes from foreign markets. Most studios gauge the success of a big-budget blockbuster in the states if it can meet or slightly surpass its supposed budget and then it can break even and make a majority of its haul from theaters abroad. It is actually thanks to the foreign box office that films such as, "Warcraft" and "Independence Day 2" are not outright flops and will eventually turn a profit for their respective studios. However, every market is susceptible to the bullpen of competition and it is very likely for a film to fail abroad depending on what it is fighting against. Meaning, that if a film flops in both the domestic and foreign markets than the studio will suffer an outright loss. This happened this summer with the new "Ghostbusters" which had a moderately successful opening weekend only to lose its legs in the long run. Normally this is where the foreign box-office would come in to pick up the ball, but after being rejected by a few major markets (namely China for content reasons) and quickly also losing steam similarly to its domestic run the film can now be officially deemed a box-office bomb. It's not only a financial setback for the film itself and the studio, but it also puts the future of a lucrative franchise in jeopardy.

Perhaps the failure of Ghostbusters paints the most explicit problem that is crippling studio filmmaking, and that is a lack of originality. Ultimately, the question needs to be asked, did audiences really want to see another "Ghostbusters?" Maybe to relieve some bliss of 80s nostalgia, but they did not even have to leave the comfort of their own home to do so this summer with Netflix's "Stranger Things" becoming a streaming phenomenon. Whether the big film studios like it or not, they cannot deny streaming services and television can be viewed as a threat to a film's overall gross due to competition. The reason why is because much of Hollywood's top talent, both in front of and behind the camera, is flocking to services like Netflix, Amazon, and HBO because they offer more creative freedom. Ironically, this broad creative freedom was the reason many iconic directors came to in Hollywood during 1970s because television had become so constrained to conformity. This is what gave mainstream commercial success to movies like "Taxi Driver" and "Annie Hall," which would surely be deemed as art films today and would find trouble being produced without the big names behind them. When a studio like Netflix is more willing to throw the money down on a new Brad Pitt project while others are busy greenlighting a Ben-Hur remake, then it proposes a problem on Hollywood’s ability to create fresh concepts.

Does this mean that studios should stop making remakes and sequels? No, they just have to make sure to bring the spectacle. With ticket prices constantly rising, audiences want to make sure every dollar they spend to get into the lobby doors is put to good use on delivering thrills. Moviegoers are certainly speaking with their wallets when films like "Civil War" and "Batman v Superman" open massive, only with one continuing on a steady pace to boxoffice gold while the other drops off faster than a speeding bullet. Yet, the word 'spectacle' goes so much more beyond the thrill, audiences want to be captivated by stories they are watching, so craftsmanship of narrative should be of the utmost importance. It was the clever allegory and realistic character interactions that pushed "Zootopia" from being just another talking animal movie to a billion dollar hit. Also, and most importantly, despite the gangbusters profits from big-budget films, studios really do need to add more moderately budgeted comedies, dramas, and horror films to their line-up. They may not make a billion dollars, but on smaller budgets, their returns could be just as large. Even "Deadpool" proved this year that you can make a tent-pole superhero film without breaking the bank. Hopefully, this is the year executives will put more conservative budgets in the future lineups.

So here's to the end of the summer blockbuster season, may those in charge learn from their mistakes, and give us a sensational fall awards season. Where Hollywood's originality should come out to play with, "La La Land," "Passengers," and "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk."