I read once that when people were polled about why they go to the movies, the #1 reason given was "To laugh". I suspect that has a lot to do with this phenomenon.

Most people go to the movies to escape, during which they don't want to have to think. That's not necessarily a comment on people's general intelligence levels; it's good for all of us to turn off our brains sometimes. This is why so many hit movies are formulaic; people appreciate the comfort of what they know. Action/adventure, romantic comedy -- these are genres that people can enjoy without having to put in much effort.

Accents? Subtitles? Complex plots? Those require you to pay attention and think a bit. So movies like that are not generally going to be as popular as your superhero-defeats-supervillain-who-blows-stuff-up movie.

Most people think, rightly or wrongly, that if a critic calls something the best movie of the year, that it will be something thought-provoking or challenging. Maybe even -- horrors -- in black and white. Who needs that?, they think.

My mother is a perfect example of this. She'll see any stupid movie in the world (she recommended "Booty Call"), but she refuses to watch anything that would be considered a "period piece". It's just "not her thing". Sigh.

-- Trip, who'd be too depressed to compare the grosses of "Amelie" and "Armageddon"