After summer duds, Hollywood pins hopes on fall ticket sales

Overseas audiences continue to devour what Hollywood serves up

Jeff Bock, a senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations, an entertainment research firm, summed up Hollywood’s dismal summer at the domestic box office — estimated ticket sales fell to a 22-year low — by going on an “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” rant.

“The message from American moviegoers over the summer was not subtle,” Mr. Bock said. “Please, we are begging you, give us something more than soulless, half-baked sequels and remakes that are made by committee and primarily designed to sell merchandise.”

Even so, studios are unlikely to shift gears anytime soon. Overseas audiences continue