80% of the population was not alive when Selma was a big issue, that is why it is a non starter at the box office. Everyone by now knows the story, they have had it jammed down their throats in schools since 1970. We won WW2, when was the last world war 2 movie made, besides Saving Pvt Ryan which was a made up story.
“besides Saving Pvt Ryan which was a made up story.”
It may have been a made up story, but that beach landing scene was exactly as it was that day. My Dad was there that day and the movie was exactly the way he described it, right down to the guys puking on the boat before landing. Dad died long before the movie came out.
"Fury" and "Unbreakable" were released this year.
Those are just the ones I"ve seen, along with a few others I happened to think of while I was making up the list. They're not all great, and they're not all about American Marines storming the beaches, but if I can come up with a dozen from memory, there's got to be a ton of them out there that I haven't seen or heard of.
Also, with the U.S. in active combat in the Middle East, I imagine that filmmakers feel their production dollars are better spent producing contemporary war movies. (Which I would also think are cheaper to produce since they don't require scrounging for period-appropriate props and costumes.)
UNBROKEN is a WWII movie and it was nominated for awards this year.
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The American public voted with their wallets. They spanked Selma, and lavished praise on American Sniper. This is what really counts.