Keller @ Large: Hollywood's Summer Of Duds

BOSTON (CBS) - Hey, I've got an idea. Let's go to the movies tonight!

That used to be a no-brainer on a hot summer afternoon or evening. But not so much anymore, according to the latest Hollywood box office figures reported in Monday's Wall Street Journal.

It seems this has been the summer of the big-budget flop, from epic fantasies like "The Huntsman: Winter's War," to the inevitable sequels of old chestnuts like "The Legend of Tarzan," movies with budgets in excess of $100 million have failed to recoup their exorbitant production costs.

Even highly-touted sequels like the new "Ghostbusters" movie have bombed.

What's the problem?

I think content is at the heart of Hollywood's summertime slump.

Fantasy literature succeeds when it prompts the reader's mind to run wild. If you're going to try to translate that into this very literal medium, you'd better offer some mind-blowing special effects and plot twists, lest the word quickly spread that the original book or video game was better.

And look at some of this summer's crop of movies that have done well.

Many have come from Disney, which scored mega hits with "Finding Dory" and "Zootopia," beautifully-made animation with clever dialogue, interesting characters, and stories that actually connect with real life.

The movie industry has a lot of competition these days from multiple sources, many of which are a lot cheaper than shelling out for movie tickets. But people will pay to see creativity and originality that doesn't insult their intelligence - if only Hollywood would offer some.