I'm not quite so sure. I think Michael Medved and Brent Bozell have both analyzed the box-office evfidence and concluded that movies with decent human values DO sell --- some of them very profitably --- while the hyper-negative frequently tank. This was certainly shown with the recent anti-American movies: big-budget box-office fizzles.
Or take "Bella," which was mentioned earlier. Though the filming of “Bella” cost a modest $3 million, and it has gained audiences largely through word-of-mouth publicity, for four weekends now it earned the second and third highest per-theater sales figures inthe nation, in competition with movies that cost $100-$150 million to make, and which had the benefit of huge marketing budgets.
"Bella" was the #1 movie in the nation in audience response on Yahoo, Fandango, and the RottenTomatoes.com audience reviews.
AND YET the big distributors as yet aren't picking it up.
Which makes you wonder.
I agree with you. If more good, decent movies were made, people would go to them.
I have also noticed that much of the dreck Hollywood produces does not do well at the box office. But I suspect that much of Hollywood doesn’t even care what sells or what doesn’t. They don’t want to impress the public. They look down their noses at the public, especially those rubes in flyover country. They want to impress their peers in Hollywood! They want to win awards and be patted on the back by other Hollywoodites and told how daring and wonderful and “courageous” they are.