MONOPLEX MELTDOWN.

This article focuses on the decrease in attendance at North American motion picture theaters and box office revenues. As we approach the peak of the summer blockbuster season, the North American box office has entered its fifth month of the most prolonged attendance slump in two decades, down nine per cent from last year. But why are Hollywood movies suffering? Ellis Jacob, CEO of Canada's Ciniplex Galaxy, insists it's cyclical. While piracy and DVD sales may be taking a bite out of the box office, the slump "has more to do with the quality of the product. And word of mouth is much faster today. My daughter walks out of the theatre and she's text messaging--'I saw a lousy movie' or 'I saw a great movie.' " Virtually every major release this season is a sequel, a prequel, a remake, a knock-off or a comic–book franchise--from Star Wars: Episode III to War of the Worlds, from The Longest Yard to Batman Begins. Welcome to the Brave New World of the inbred blockbuster. As Hollywood cannibalizes itself, every movie begins to look like every other movie. And with Orwellian uniformity, as if the industry has been overrun by the zombies and aliens it so assiduously clones, the multiplex becomes the monoplex. The gap between big-budget movies and small indie films has never been wider. And the middle ground is vanishing. Occasionally, they get it right. The summer's sleeper hit will be Wedding Crashers, a sweet, smart, hilarious comedy with Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson and a Canadian--Rachel McAdams.