For starters, each is a unique product, and audiences have to try it to see whether they will like it. And this unique product is playing in a tournament against an ever-changing group of competitors. And novelty takes many forms. It would be wrong to conclude that today's audiences do not want to see heroes waging special-effects battle against absolute evil, despite overwhelming odds. Its freshness lay elsewhere.
Movies succeed when audiences resonate to what is on the screen.
That is why Professors De Vany and Walls find that a good opening weekend does not matter that much, at least for the real hits. The hits take off as information spreads beyond the control of the studio. The data suggests that stars have their main effect not so much by helping movies open as by extending their runs. But most stars do not really make a difference. The top two stars were not macho action heroes but Michelle Pfeiffer and Sandra Bullock.