History AudienceAlienatingEra / Film

* TheNew10s saw adult comedy films fall into this territory. Throughout the 2000s, comedies were one of Hollywood's most dominant genres, with the works of Creator/JuddApatow, Adam [=McKay=], and Creator/ToddPhillips often being some of the highest grossing films of their release years. 2010 however, marked a turning point, as stricter MPAA guidelines made it harder to portray borderline-vulgar material, particularly prominent in these films. Social attitudes towards humor in general also shifted early in the decade, especially regarding [[ValuesDissonance the constant use of certain actions and language that had come to be considered offensive]]. Not helping matters was the increasing importance of international markets for film studios causing them to scale back on mid-budget films such as these in favor of large budget blockbusters and modest budget films that carry less financial risk and are easier to adapt for foreign audiences. ''Film/TheHangover'' sequels, ''Film/BadTeacher'', ''Film/{{Ted}}'', ''Film/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' ([[Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet and its sequel]]), and ''Film/Neighbors2014'' were among the few bona-fide comedic successes for the succeeding years. The rise of movie ticket prices and growth of streaming services also caused many people to save their movie theater experiences for event movies and blockbusters. Several A-List comedy stars, such as Creator/AdamSandler, also began to take their films away from theaters and exclusively to streaming services where they could maintain greater creative control. With the exception of the superhero comedy ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'', as well as it's sequel, and the animated film ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'', modestly budgeted female-geared comedy films became the only theatrical commercially-viable type films during the 2010s, beginning with the success of ''Film/BadMoms''. This focus on blockbusters has also affected the movie industry as a whole, with indie fare largely migrating to streaming services for the same reasons.

** It was the height of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, and British film was trying to respond... and flailing in the wind. In 1927, the UK passed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematograph_Films_Act_1927 a quota]] on foreign (i.e. American) films that, far from protecting British studios as was intended, merely led the Hollywood studios to establish British and Canadian subsidiaries to crank out "quota quickies" for the British market. These films were [[NoBudget dirt-cheap]], and often downright dreadful; an {{Urban Legend|s}} claims that British cinema houses used the quota quickies as time to clean and even vacuum the theatres, as they so often showed to empty seats. British studios in turn had to cut costs if they hoped to compete.

* In any case, the British got their revenge when Hollywood plunged into an Audience-Alienating Era of its own in [[The50s the 1950s]] and especially [[The60s the '60s]], during the UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem. Hollywood spent the '50s struggling to keep up with mounting pressures from television, independent filmmakers, foreign (especially British and French) cinema, changing cultural norms, [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist the Red Scare]], the collapse of the star system, and antitrust actions, and while they were still turning out quality films, a vast gap was emerging between the {{epic movie}}s that they hinged their box-office success on and the rest of their output. By the '60s, these pressures had collectively overwhelmed them and had started to impact the quality of their films. For every smash hit like ''Film/TheLongestDay'' or ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'', there were a slew of copycats like ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' and ''Film/ToraToraTora'' that bombed, while old standbys like [[TheWestern Westerns]] and SwordAndSandal epics were hitting diminishing returns due to audience burnout. The Audience-Alienating Era ended with [[UsefulNotes/NewHollywood Hollywood's creative renaissance in the '70s]], though it wasn't until UsefulNotes/{{the Blockbuster Age|OfHollywood}} in the '80s when the studios fully turned themselves around from a business standpoint.\\\
Again, though, what seems like an audience-alienating era later gets revised. Today, the '50s is seen by some, such as James Harvey (author of ''Movie Love in the '50s''), as one of Hollywood's best periods. Changes like MethodActing (popularized by Creator/MarlonBrando, Creator/JamesDean, and Creator/PaulNewman) first came from this time. Auteur directors like Creator/SamuelFuller, Creator/NicholasRay, and others came to prominence in this decade. Creator/DouglasSirk's melodramas, initially seen as typical of '50s kitsch, are today seen as {{Deconstruction}} avant-la-lettre, or rather pendant-la-lettre (since it originated in the same decade as Sirk). This was also the great period for FilmNoir, TheWestern, and BMovie science fiction and horror, and the end of Hollywood's monopoly on owning theatres paved the way for the rise of independent and avant-garde films. It's worth noting that this revisionist take was being made even at the time, as [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff French film critics]] in the '50s were pointing to Hollywood as an unsung hotbed for innovation and TrueArt in film, leading them to start making their own, American-inspired films in what became known as the UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave -- a movement that in turn influenced the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood period in American film.

** A big part of the reason why the auteur critics of the UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave lavished so much praise on Hollywood was because they famously [[CulturalCringe held it up as a counterpart to their native film industry]] at the time, which they castigated as being trapped in its own Audience-Alienating Era. Later historians have argued that the likes of Creator/FrancoisTruffaut and Creator/JeanLucGodard were being unfair, and made French cinema into a strawman to bolster their points. But even a revisionist like Bertrand Tavernier admits that the '50s were a low point for French cinema, with largely forgettable films, poorly-thought literary adaptations that the screenwriters themselves disliked (famously, author Boris Vian's last words were yelling at the screen during one such adaptation), and the best work being done in the French independent scene of Creator/JeanPierreMelville, Creator/JacquesTati, Creator/JeanCocteau, and Creator/RobertBresson (all of whom were championed by the New Wave).

The leading exception to this view is with the comedy genre, with the '80s often seen as a Golden Age for Hollywood comedy. Relaxed censorship combined with the end of the UsefulNotes/NewHollywood era (with its focus on gritty dramas) allowed LighterAndSofter fare to reenter theaters, this time with far more edge than would've been permissible in the '50s or '60s. At the same time, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' and ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' had been important training grounds for young comedic talent since the mid-'70s, and the former would continue to be so even as it recovered from its own audience-alienating era in [[SeasonalRot the 1980-81 season]]. '80s stars like Creator/BillMurray, Creator/HaroldRamis, Creator/DanAykroyd, Creator/EddieMurphy, Creator/RickMoranis, and Creator/JohnCandy are now seen as icons, with films like ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', ''Film/GroundhogDay'', ''Film/{{Stripes}}'', ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles'', ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'', and more acclaimed as classics. SpeculativeFiction films were also robust during the decade; the science fiction boom that ''Franchise/StarWars'' kicked off lasted into the mid-'80s (and arguably never truly went away, even to this day), the horror genre saw the {{slasher|Movie}} wave, and there was a revival in fantasy films led by the likes of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'', ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', and ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory''. 1982 in particular is a high-water mark, with the UsefulNotes/HugoAward nominees from that year all still seen as classics decades later - ''Film/BladeRunner'' beat out ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' and ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''.

* Moviegoing in India, especially in Mumbai, became truly oppressive in the 21st Century. In most democracies, you saw loosening of censorship over a period of time, but censorship in Indian cinema and UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} is comparable to dictatorships and theocracies in terms of restrictions on political content, showing sexuality or bringing anti-authoritarian sentiments. While the latter three loosened somewhat recently, conservatives decided to combat it by putting anti-smoking and anti-alcohol sentiments, this they did by adding messages that came on the screen in big letters any time a character smoke and drank on-screen. Indeed, Creator/WoodyAllen removed ''Film/BlueJasmine'' from Indian screens for these very reasons.
* Many Japanese moviegoers feel that their film industry has gone into this era, especially during the 2010s and early 2020s. Even though certain movies have earned critical acclaim, such as the [[MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestForeignLanguageFilm Oscar-winners]] ''{{Film/Departures}}'', ''Film/DriveMyCar'', ''Film/Confessions2010'', ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', ''Anime/YourName'', and the UsefulNotes/PalmeDOr-winner ''{{Film/Shoplifters}}'', many Japanese people feel that most locally produced films have cheap cinematography, cliched plots, low production values, and a general lack of ambition. Adding to this, most live-action movies produced are either based on manga series or light novels and have received backlash from fans of said series ([[AmericansHateTingle especially from North American fans]]). Big names in Japanese filmmaking have expressed their dissatisfaction with the drought of original movies, and Creator/TakeshiKitano in particular claims that the industry is in [[https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/national/the-delinquent-takeshi-kitano-rips-japanese-film-industry/ "a state of demise"]]. Critics often point to several reasons why the industry is going downhill:

While Universal's own monster movies never returned to the heights of the '30s and early '40s, the monsters themselves returned to the popular consciousness in the late '50s and '60s for two major reasons. First, in 1957 Universal released the ''Shock Theater'' UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} package, containing fifty-two of their classic horror films, to television stations, leading to a proliferation of late-night {{Horror Host}}s on television and a surge in geek enthusiast magazines like ''Famous Monsters of Filmland''. Second, that same year [[Film/HammerHorror Hammer Film Productions]] started remaking many of Universal's horror films, adding new levels of sex and violence that made them edgy again for a whole new generation. By The70s, Universal's monsters were once more recognized as screen legends and the foundation of American horror cinema. Since then, Universal has often returned to the well, remaking and re-imagining many of their classic monsters over the years with varying degrees of success.

* Creator/MaeWest lost a good chunk of her sex appeal when UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode was imposed, but her movies remained passable. ''Film/MyraBreckinridge'' and ''Film/{{Sextette}}'', made after she was convinced to come out of retirement in old age, are not. ''Myra Breckinridge'' ([[InNameOnly loosely]] based on a novel by Creator/GoreVidal, for whom this is a DisownedAdaptation) was a terrible film in its own right and only featured Mae in a single scene -- basically playing herself -- as a man-hungry talent agent-type who gives the eponymous heroine (a transgender woman who's just had her sex change) lessons on mistreating the menfolk. Frankly, Mae is not the grossest thing in it -- not after you see the [[BlackComedyRape strap-on scene]]. ''Sextette'' had West as a sex symbol... which was one thing when she was in her 30s and 40s and quite another when she's a frail, overly made-up 84-year-old woman paired with men young enough to be her grandchildren (such as 32-year-old Creator/TimothyDalton, for whom this is a major [[CreatorBacklash source of regret]]). Most people's reactions to the film are somewhere between a PrimalScene reaction and profound {{Squick}}.

* Many in the general audience believe that ''[[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAward}} The Academy Awards]]'' have fallen into one ever since the Mid-2000s, especially in regards to [[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture}} Best Picture Winners]] with many viewers feeling that the Academy has become very [[https://nationalpost.com/news/oscars-green-book-best-picture-spike-lee-blackkklansman-black-panther-a-star-is-born-bohemian-rhapsody out]] [[https://www.statsignificant.com/p/are-best-picture-winners-getting of touch]] with what appeals to audiences, and that the winning films have gotten worse. Historically, among the films that win ''Best Picture'', there has always been some correlation between the acclaim the film receives and how well it does among general audiences (a weak connection, but one nonetheless), with winning films generally garnering both acclaim and large box-office success. However, starting in the mid-2000s there was a sharp divide between winning films that do well with critics and those that do well among general audiences & in the Box Office. A key reason for this is because of the rise of independent cinema in the late 90s & early 2000s. These were small, low-budget, typically [[LeFilmArtistique art-house]] films that usually [[TrueArtIsAngsty tackled heavy subject matter]]. These films are also frequently movies that general audiences and even many critics have never even heard of, much less seen, and they started to dominate the nominations every year at the Academy Awards. Many began to feel that the Academy has largely taken a very elitist view by specifically targeting indie films that are apparently meant only for the Academy... and no one else; so much so that many view them as [[OscarBait existing solely to get nominated or even win the Best Picture Award]], and they are frequently forgotten about within a year or two. And because of this, the Academy is seen as incredibly insular and out-of-touch with general audiences in recent years, and their viewership ratings have declined greatly as a result. This streak of low-grossing independent film winners was broken in 2024 when ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' won the Oscar for ''Best Picture'' along with having glowing reviews from critics & general audiences and a total gross of $960 Million, so its possible that this era of unknown indie films dominating the Academy is starting to fade away.

* Many in the general audience believe that ''[[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAward}} The Academy Awards]]'' have fallen into one ever since the Mid-2000s, especially in regards to [[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture}} Best Picture Winners]] with many viewers feeling that the Academy has become very [[https://nationalpost.com/news/oscars-green-book-best-picture-spike-lee-blackkklansman-black-panther-a-star-is-born-bohemian-rhapsody out]] [[https://www.statsignificant.com/p/are-best-picture-winners-getting of touch]] with what appeals to audiences, and that the winning films have gotten worse. Historically, among the films that win ''Best Picture'', there has always been some correlation between the acclaim the film receives and how well it does among general audiences (a weak connection, but one nonetheless), with winning films generally garnering both acclaim and large box-office success. However, starting in the mid-2000s there was a sharp divide between winning films that do well with critics and those that do well among general audiences & in the Box Office. A key reason for this is because of the rise of independent cinema in the late 90s & early 2000s. These were small, low-budget, typically [[LeFilmArtistique art-house]] films that usually [[TrueArtIsAngsty tackled heavy subject matter]]. These films are also frequently movies that general audiences and even many critics have never even heard of, much less seen, and they started to dominate the nominations every year at the Academy Awards. Many began to feel that the Academy has largely taken a very elitist view by specifically targeting indie films that are apparently meant only for the Academy... and no one else; so much so that many view them as [[OscarBait existing solely to get nominated or even win the Best Picture Award]], and they are frequently forgotten about within a year or two. And because of this, the Academy is seen as incredibly insular and out-of-touch with general audiences in recent years, and their viewership ratings have declined greatly as a result. This streak of low-grossing independent film winners was broken in 2024 when ''Film/Oppenheimer'' won the Oscar for ''Best Picture'' along with glowing reviews from critics & general audiences and having a total gross of $960 Million.

* Many in the general audience believe that ''[[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAward}} The Academy Awards]]'' have fallen into one ever since the Mid-2000s, especially in regards to [[{{MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture}} Best Picture Winners]] with many viewers feeling that the Academy has become very [[https://nationalpost.com/news/oscars-green-book-best-picture-spike-lee-blackkklansman-black-panther-a-star-is-born-bohemian-rhapsody out]] [[https://www.statsignificant.com/p/are-best-picture-winners-getting of touch]] with what appeals to audiences, and that the winning films have gotten worse. Historically, among the films that win ''Best Picture'', there has always been some correlation between the acclaim the film receives and how well it does among general audiences (a weak connection, but one nonetheless), with winning films generally garnering both acclaim and large box-office success. However, starting in the mid-2000s there was a sharp divide between winning films that do well with critics and those that do well among general audiences & in the Box Office. A key reason for this is because of the rise of independent cinema in the late 90s & early 2000s. These were small, low-budget, typically [[LeFilmArtistique art-house]] films that usually [[TrueArtIsAngsty tackled heavy subject matter]]. These films are also frequently movies that general audiences and even many critics have never even heard of, much less seen, and they started to dominate the nominations every year at the Academy Awards. Many began to feel that the Academy has largely taken a very elitist view by specifically targeting indie films that are apparently meant only for the Academy... and no one else; so much so that many view them as [[OscarBait existing solely to get nominated or even win the Best Picture Award]], and they are frequently forgotten about within a year or two. And because of this, the Academy is seen as incredibly insular and out-of-touch with general audiences in recent years, and their viewership ratings have declined greatly as a result. As of 2023, the Academy is still stuck in this era.

** With Creator/{{Disney}}'s purchase of Lucasfilm, the trend continued, with ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', and ''Film/RogueOne'' all being commercial and critical successes (not without criticism of course, both constructive and non). The [[ContestedSequel divisive]] nature of the [[Film/TheLastJedi films]] [[Film/{{Solo}} that]] [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker followed]] (along with ''Film/{{Solo}}'' being the first film in the franchise to severely underperform its projected gross), along with Lucasfilm taking a stance towards fans that was (rightly or wrongly) perceived as [[DearNegativeReader antagonistic]] have created concern of another one however. Disney and Lucasfilm appear to be acknowledging this, as they officially put further cinematic installments (new films outside the Skywalker Saga proposed by Creator/RianJohnson, Creator/PattyJenkins, and Creator/DavidBenioff and Creator/DBWeiss were publicly announced and then canceled or put on indefinate hiatus) of the franchise on hold until [[MilestoneCelebration 2027]] to focus on streaming series, most notably ''Series/TheMandalorian'', which has been well received across the board. %% As per the Rule Of Cautious Editing Judgment, DO NOT ELABORATE

* Many Japanese moviegoers feel that their film industry has gone into this era, especially during the 2010s and early 2020s. Even though certain movies have earned critical acclaim, such as the [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestForeignLanguageFilm Oscar-winners]] ''{{Film/Departures}}'', ''Film/DriveMyCar'', ''Film/Confessions2010'', ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', ''Anime/YourName'', and the UsefulNotes/PalmeDOr-winner ''{{Film/Shoplifters}}'', many Japanese people feel that most locally produced films have cheap cinematography, cliched plots, low production values, and a general lack of ambition. Adding to this, most live-action movies produced are either based on manga series or light novels and have received backlash from fans of said series ([[AmericansHateTingle especially from North American fans]]). Big names in Japanese filmmaking have expressed their dissatisfaction with the drought of original movies, and Creator/TakeshiKitano in particular claims that the industry is in [[https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/national/the-delinquent-takeshi-kitano-rips-japanese-film-industry/ "a state of demise"]]. Critics often point to several reasons why the industry is going downhill:

** With Creator/{{Disney}}'s purchase of Lucasfilm, the trend continued, with ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', and ''Film/RogueOne'' all being commercial and critical successes (not without criticism of course, both constructive and non). The [[ContestedSequel divisive]] nature of the [[Film/TheLastJedi films]] [[Film/{{Solo}} that]] [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker followed]] (along with ''Film/{{Solo}}'' being the first film in the franchise to severely underperform its projected gross), along with Lucasfilm taking a stance towards fans that was (rightly or wrongly) perceived as [[DearNegativeReader antagonistic]] have created concern of another one however. Disney and Lucasfilm appear to be acknowledging this, as they officially put further cinematic installments (new films outside the Skywalker Saga proposed by Creator/RianJohnson, Creator/PattyJenkins, and Creator/DavidBenioff and Creator/DBWeiss were publicly announced and then canceled or put on definate hiatus) of the franchise on hold until 2026 to focus on streaming series, most notably ''Series/TheMandalorian'', which has been well received across the board. %% As per the Rule Of Cautious Editing Judgment, DO NOT ELABORATE

** With Creator/{{Disney}}'s purchase of Lucasfilm, the trend continued, with ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', and ''Film/RogueOne'' all being commercial and critical successes (though TFA had its own controversies over various similarites to ANH and a HappyEndingOverride for the OT heroes). The [[ContestedSequel divisive]] nature of both ''Film/TheLastJedi'' and ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', the box office under-performance of ''Film/{{Solo}}'', and friction between Lucasfilm and [[DearNegativeReader the fanbase]] have created concern of another one however. Disney and Lucasfilm appear to be acknowledging this, as they officially put further cinematic installments of the franchise on hold for six years to focus on streaming series, most notably ''Series/TheMandalorian'', which has been well received across the board. %% As per the Rule Of Cautious Editing Judgment, DO NOT ELABORATE

* In any case, the British got their revenge when Hollywood plunged into an Audience-Alienating Era of its own in [[TheFifties the 1950s]] and especially [[TheSixties the '60s]], during the UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem. Hollywood spent the '50s struggling to keep up with mounting pressures from television, independent filmmakers, foreign (especially British and French) cinema, changing cultural norms, [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist the Red Scare]], the collapse of the star system, and antitrust actions, and while they were still turning out quality films, a vast gap was emerging between the {{epic movie}}s that they hinged their box-office success on and the rest of their output. By the '60s, these pressures had collectively overwhelmed them and had started to impact the quality of their films. For every smash hit like ''Film/TheLongestDay'' or ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'', there were a slew of copycats like ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' and ''Film/ToraToraTora'' that bombed, while old standbys like [[TheWestern Westerns]] and SwordAndSandal epics were hitting diminishing returns due to audience burnout. The Audience-Alienating Era ended with [[UsefulNotes/NewHollywood Hollywood's creative renaissance in the '70s]], though it wasn't until UsefulNotes/{{the Blockbuster Age|OfHollywood}} in the '80s when the studios fully turned themselves around from a business standpoint.\\\

** The French film industry would enter into another Audience-Alienating Era during TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium, a scene described in Creator/OlivierAssayas' ''Film/IrmaVep'' where post-New Wave filmmakers and other independents felt so marginalized that they felt no reason to expect any audience for their films. It's also in those years that the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma) started stepping up to finance or co-finance such films (via taxes on cinema admissions) so they wouldn't worry about becoming {{Box Office Bomb}}s, shaping French cinema's current economic landscape.
** French comedies. There seems to be an endless flow of what many consider as lowbrow comedies since the end of TheNineties, to the point nostalgia for the likes of Creator/LouisDeFunes (whose decades were a ''critics''-alienating era) is still going strong. While there ''has'' been a number of clever and well received French comedies since then (the ''Film/OSS117'' series with Creator/JeanDujardin for example), the majority of the highest grossing ones fall into that category (while never having positive user ratings on dedicated sites like Allociné or [=SensCritique=]). Even more concerning, comedies (lowbrow and everything else) made up a whopping '''''67%''''' of the total of French films produced in 2022. [[note]]Comedies are by far the cheapest genre to produce[[/note]]

* TheEighties are seen by both American and British film critics and historians as a major low point. This period of neoliberalism (Reagan and Thatcher) saw many of the great New Hollywood directors out to lunch or in exile (Creator/MartinScorsese, Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/RobertAltman), as well as a great many now-forgotten mainstream films that attempted to [[FollowTheLeader copy the success]] of Creator/GeorgeLucas and Creator/StevenSpielberg. Films that are celebrated today, like ''Film/BladeRunner'', ''Film/RagingBull'', and ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'', were flops early on that would only later be VindicatedByHistory. In general, critics note that this was the first decade in American cinema in which the most exciting filmmakers came from the independent scene rather than the mainstream (before, it was at least a case that both Hollywood and the indies produced excellent films, and the former kept a window open for the latter to climb in), with Creator/JimJarmusch, Creator/SpikeLee, Creator/RichardLinklater, and Abel Ferrara rising to prominence in this era as cult directors.\\\

** From the late '40s through the '50s, the Franchise/UniversalHorror cycle was sputtering out with only ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'', ''Film/ItCameFromOuterSpace'', and the Creator/AbbottAndCostello {{parod|y}}ies being fondly remembered. The rest of the genre was descending into [[DriveInTheater drive-in]] BMovie hell as a slew of cheaply-made sci-fi and monster movies tried to copy the success of hits like ''Film/{{Them}}'', ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'', and ''It Came From Outer Space''. At best, the era provided quite a bit of material for ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''. The concerns due to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, and the rise of Film/HammerHorror, Creator/RogerCorman, and (on television) ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' would provide the beginnings of a comeback, which became finalized in the late '60s and lasted for [[TheSeventies roughly two]] [[TheEighties decades]].
** For some, TheEighties were thought of as an Audience-Alienating Era, as many fans thought that the genre turned back into BMovie schlock thanks to the [[DirectToVideo home video]] market. {{Slasher movie}}s especially were blamed for killing the genre's artistic and critical respectability due to a morass of cliches, plotless violence, one-dimensional characters, and pandering to teenage audiences. However, the critical reappraisal of many slasher movies has vindicated the era, with defenders noting the subversiveness and great special effects of horror greats.
** In 1989, the "Big Three" SlasherMovie franchises (''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'', and ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'') released bad movies that [[FranchiseKiller threw each of them off the rails]] and rendered the genre as a whole dormant in the first half of TheNineties. Very few horror films had much success between 1989 and 1996, and the few that did (such as ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' and ''Film/{{Se7en}}'') were either PsychologicalThriller or "horror-adjacent". It's not for nothing that ''Film/Scream1996'' and ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', two works that are now often held up as high points of '90s horror, are best known as ''parodies'' of the genre, looking back on the films of the '70s and '80s with a great deal of snark. After ''Scream'' became a hit, notable horror films in the latter half of the decade were often ''Scream'' knock-offs that were seen as little more than half-hearted, [[{{Bowdlerise}} sanitized]] recyclings of '80s slasher tropes that the ''Scream'' films had already mercilessly skewered and {{discredited|Trope}}. Julia Alexander of ''Polygon'' [[http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/29/13465868/house-of-1000-corpses-rob-zombie-halloween refers to the '90s]] as the "WB period of horror" due to the fact that many horror films from the decade looked like pilots for a TeenDrama on Creator/TheWB, filled with good-looking young people getting ([[GoryDiscretionShot bloodlessly]]) hacked to death by generic slasher villains. The Audience-Alienating Era ended around 2002-04 with the success of the [[ForeignRemake American adaptation]] of ''Literature/TheRing'', the boom in the {{zombie|Apocalypse}} genre (kicked off by ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater''), and the rise of the "Splat Pack", a group of [[TorturePorn ultraviolent]] horror filmmakers that included Creator/JamesWan, Music/RobZombie, and Creator/EliRoth, and has maintained a decent place ever since.

* At the TurnOfTheMillennium, the RomanticComedy genre was seen as neither particularly romantic nor particularly funny. While TheNineties are often remembered as a Golden Age for the genre, the 2000s felt to many fans like a warmed-over retread of what worked in the past, with too many films relying on increasingly contrived MeetCute setups, forced CringeComedy, and outlandish HighConcept hooks, all while the characters got less interesting (this was when the term ManicPixieDreamGirl was coined to critique a particular type of shallow LoveInterest) and the actors had less chemistry. By the late '00s, this led to more serious romantic dramas coming into vogue, led by the ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' films and the adaptations of Creator/NicholasSparks' novels, while films like ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'' started [[GenreDeconstruction deconstructing the genre]]. The Audience-Alienating Era ended in the late 2010s with ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'' and ''Film/ToAllTheBoysIveLovedBefore'', which heralded a revival of the genre by hearkening back to its '90s golden age.

* TheNewTens saw adult comedy films fall into this territory. Throughout the 2000s, comedies were one of Hollywood's most dominant genres, with the works of Creator/JuddApatow, Adam [=McKay=], and Creator/ToddPhillips often being some of the highest grossing films of their release years. 2010 however, marked a turning point, as stricter MPAA guidelines made it harder to portray borderline-vulgar material, particularly prominent in these films. Social attitudes towards humor in general also shifted early in the decade, especially regarding [[ValuesDissonance the constant use of certain actions and language that had come to be considered offensive]]. Not helping matters was the increasing importance of international markets for film studios causing them to scale back on mid-budget films such as these in favor of large budget blockbusters and modest budget films that carry less financial risk and are easier to adapt for foreign audiences. ''Film/TheHangover'' sequels, ''Film/BadTeacher'', ''Film/{{Ted}}'', ''Film/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' ([[Film/TwentyTwoJumpStreet and its sequel]]), and ''Film/Neighbors2014'' were among the few bona-fide comedic successes for the succeeding years. The rise of movie ticket prices and growth of streaming services also caused many people to save their movie theater experiences for event movies and blockbusters. Several A-List comedy stars, such as Creator/AdamSandler, also began to take their films away from theaters and exclusively to streaming services where they could maintain greater creative control. With the exception of the superhero comedy ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'', as well as it's sequel, and the animated film ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'', modestly budgeted female-geared comedy films became the only theatrical commercially-viable type films during the 2010s, beginning with the success of ''Film/BadMoms''. This focus on blockbusters has also affected the movie industry as a whole, with indie fare largely migrating to streaming services for the same reasons.
* Many in the general audience believe that ''[[{{UsefulNotes/AcademyAward}} The Academy Awards]]'' have fallen into one ever since the Mid-2000s, especially in regards to [[{{UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture}} Best Picture Winners]] with many viewers feeling that the Academy has become very [[https://nationalpost.com/news/oscars-green-book-best-picture-spike-lee-blackkklansman-black-panther-a-star-is-born-bohemian-rhapsody out]] [[https://www.statsignificant.com/p/are-best-picture-winners-getting of touch]] with what appeals to audiences, and that the winning films have gotten worse. Historically, among the films that win ''Best Picture'', there has always been some correlation between the acclaim the film receives and how well it does among general audiences (a weak connection, but one nonetheless), with winning films generally garnering both acclaim and large box-office success. However, starting in the mid-2000s there was a sharp divide between winning films that do well with critics and those that do well among general audiences & in the Box Office. A key reason for this is because of the rise of independent cinema in the late 90s & early 2000s. These were small, low-budget, typically [[LeFilmArtistique art-house]] films that usually [[TrueArtIsAngsty tackled heavy subject matter]]. These films are also frequently movies that general audiences and even many critics have never even heard of, much less seen, and they started to dominate the nominations every year at the Academy Awards. Many began to feel that the Academy has largely taken a very elitist view by specifically targeting indie films that are apparently meant only for the Academy... and no one else; so much so that many view them as [[OscarBait existing solely to get nominated or even win the Best Picture Award]], and they are frequently forgotten about within a year or two. And because of this, the Academy is seen as incredibly insular and out-of-touch with general audiences in recent years, and their viewership ratings have declined greatly as a result. As of 2023, the Academy is still stuck in this era.

** The franchise is often claimed to have undergone an Audience-Alienating Era during the Mid-Showa era, starting with either ''Film/SonOfGodzilla'' in 1967 or (more commonly) ''Film/AllMonstersAttack'' in 1969, one that lasted through the first half of TheSeventies. However, one is hard-pressed to explain exactly ''how'' the '70s flicks were any sillier or any 'worse' than the films that preceded them, given that Godzilla was already [[Film/KingKongvsGodzilla setting King Kong's crotch on fire]], [[Film/MothraVsGodzilla drunkenly tripping over buildings]], [[Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster chatting up a storm with Mothra and Rodan]], [[Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster dancing in outer space]], and [[Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep playing volleyrock with a giant shrimp]] during the '60s. It probably has more to do with the outlandishly low production values for a few of those films coupled with bad direction and poor acting. In fact, [[Film/AllMonstersAttack only one]] of the audience-alienating era films is considered particularly bad by a significant portion of the fanbase (and it still has its fans), with [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla two]] [[Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla films]] being considered almost on par with the '60s films and [[Film/GodzillaVsHedorah three]] [[Film/GodzillaVsGigan other]] [[Film/GodzillaVsMegalon films]] falling squarely into divisive territory. Even the aforementioned bad films often fall into the SoBadItsGood category for some people, with ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla'' actually often considered the ''best'' Showa-era Godzilla film out of all of them. As a whole, most fans agree that the Showa era began picking itself back up with the release of ''Series/ZoneFighter'' in 1973, which took the 'superhero' formula the Godzilla franchise had adopted and refined it into a much more streamlined yet equally enjoyable theme, by teaming up Godzilla with the show's eponymous Kyodai Hero and giving him plenty of monsters to fight, either with Zone or on his own.

* As mentioned above, the Franchise/UniversalHorror films are generally held to have gone downhill in TheForties, with ''Film/TheWolfMan1941'' often seen as the last great movie in the cycle. Creator/{{Universal}}, running out of ideas for sequels, started making {{crossover}} films in which the various monsters [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny did battle]] and [[ModularFranchise teamed up]], and when ''that'' well ran dry, they hired Creator/AbbottAndCostello to make parodies of their films. The actors were growing tired of their roles, with Creator/LonChaneyJr getting let out of his contract after ''Film/HouseOfDracula'' in 1945 as his alcoholism made him [[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78532/House-of-Dracula/articles.html increasingly unreliable]]. The Audience-Alienating Era reached its nadir in TheFifties as the studio struggled to adapt to the new wave of sci-fi horror, with ''Film/ItCameFromOuterSpace'' and ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' being the only Universal horror films from that time that are all that fondly remembered nowadays.\\\
While Universal's own monster movies never returned to the heights of the '30s and early '40s, the monsters themselves returned to the popular consciousness in the late '50s and '60s for two major reasons. First, in 1957 Universal released the ''Shock Theater'' UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} package, containing fifty-two of their classic horror films, to television stations, leading to a proliferation of late-night {{Horror Host}}s on television and a surge in geek enthusiast magazines like ''Famous Monsters of Filmland''. Second, that same year [[Film/HammerHorror Hammer Film Productions]] started remaking many of Universal's horror films, adding new levels of sex and violence that made them edgy again for a whole new generation. By TheSeventies, Universal's monsters were once more recognized as screen legends and the foundation of American horror cinema. Since then, Universal has often returned to the well, remaking and re-imagining many of their classic monsters over the years with varying degrees of success.

* While Creator/JohnCarpenter's box-office record was always hit or miss, in TheSeventies and TheEighties even his bombs were quickly VindicatedByCable and became {{Cult Classic}}s, while his hits helped redefine whole genres. Not so with his films in TheNineties. Starting with 1992's ''Film/MemoirsOfAnInvisibleMan'', every film of his was a BoxOfficeBomb, and what's more, only ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'' got a good reception from critics then or now. His career eventually [[CreatorKiller flatlined]] in 2001 with ''Film/GhostsOfMars'', by which point he could no longer trade on his reputation from his GloryDays, and an attempted comeback ten years later with ''Film/TheWard'' sank without a trace. He eventually rebuilt his reputation in the 2010s by switching careers, working mainly as a composer and winning acclaim for his ''Lost Themes'' albums.

** It's generally agreed that TheEighties were a complete dry spell for him. [[Film/SuddenImpact With]] few [[Film/PaleRider exceptions]], most of his films, whether he acted in them or directed them, were critical and commercial duds that failed to spark much interest or acclaim. Movies like ''Film/CityHeat'', ''Film/TheDeadPool'', ''Film/BroncoBilly'', and ''Pink Cadillac'' were critical and commercial bombs, while movies like ''Film/WhiteHunterBlackHeart'' and ''Bird'' got critical praise but failed at the box office. During this time period, Eastwood had a "[[OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt one for me, one for them]]" relationship with Creator/WarnerBros where he would do a more commercial studio film in return for letting him do a film he had an artistic interest in. Once these films weren't doing any business, Eastwood started to rethink this mentality and end up making ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' in 1992, which was a return to form that won him four Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director) and helped relaunch his career, ending his decade-long Audience-Alienating Era.

* Creator/EddieMurphy had one starting with his 1989 flop ''Film/HarlemNights'' that lasted into the [[TheNineties early-mid '90s]], with his films, ''Film/TheDistinguishedGentleman'', ''Film/Boomerang1992'', ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopIII'', and ''Film/VampireInBrooklyn'' all bombing in theaters (though ''Boomerang'' has been VindicatedByHistory). It was so tough for Murphy that in 1995, ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', the show he helped save in the early 1980s, skewered him for his struggles, as castmember Creator/DavidSpade snarked, "Look, children, it's a falling star! Make a wish!", which made Murphy so mad he that swore off SNL for nearly 20 years. Afterwards, he made his comeback with his 1996 remake of ''Film/{{The Nutty Professor|1996}}'' and 1998's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}''. He entered another one in the 2000s, where, with the exception of the ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' movies, ''Film/{{Bowfinger}}'', and ''Theatre/{{Dreamgirls}}'', his films like ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'', ''Film/{{The Haunted Mansion|2003}}'', ''Film/{{Norbit}}'', ''Film/MeetDave'' and ''Imagine That'' were all massive failures (''Pluto Nash'' has become [[BoxOfficeBomb one of Hollywood's biggest flops]], and many feel ''Norbit'', while profitable, torpedoed Murphy's Oscar hopes with ''Dreamgirls''). He got praised for starring in 2011's ''Film/TowerHeist'', but his 2012 follow-up ''A Thousand Words'' (although it was filmed in 2008) was universally panned, receiving a [[Website/RottenTomatoes Tomatometer]] score of ''0%''. He did star in the critically acclaimed ''Film/DolemiteIsMyName'', which earned him a Razzie Redeemer Award, and he won an Emmy for his 2019 return to SNL, so only time will tell whether he'll recover.