Why Did Hollywood Stop Making Comedies? A Statistical Analysis

Hollywood comedy production has declined 27% since 1990 despite audience demand ranking the genre second among those viewers 'want to see more of,' according to Letterboxd genre data and a 68,000-consumer survey. Comedy films average $26.5 million production budgets and double their investment returns at 102%, yet represent just 9.3% of sequel releases compared to action's 27.6%.

The shift reflects studios prioritizing internationally marketable franchises over domestically-focused comedies, which earn most revenue from US and Canadian audiences. Films like 1984's Beverly Hills Cop ($977 million inflation-adjusted) and Ghostbusters ($882 million) remain unmatched by contemporary releases -- with half of Letterboxd's most popular 2020s 'comedies' being either non-comedic films like Saltburn or IP-driven movies like Barbie.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.