It’s Official - Movie Comedies Are DEAD

Can the comedy movie return from the brink of near-extinction on the big screen and become a genuine cultural commodity once again, or is it irreversibly destined for the ephemeral streaming abyss?

It's tough to say, though it's clear that movie trends operate in cycles, and it's not totally uncommon for genres to lose and gain popularity over time. 

That said, it's pretty tough to picture a major resurgence of pure comedies, even if romcoms and action-comedies could very well see a more plausible comeback in the years to come.

With the way the wind is blowing right now, though, it seems like the majority of comedy movies produced will debut on streaming, or at most receive a cursory theatrical release of a few weeks, even if only to keep the stars and filmmakers involved happy.

It'd be great to be wrong, but at a time where even frothy, well-received blockbusters are flopping or underperforming left and right, does something as comparatively straight-forward as a comedy really stand much of a chance? It's looking bleak out here.