even when more critically acclaimed movies are heavily promoted--Munich, Brokeback,etc--they just don't make as much money as more popular fare.

out of the top 20 grossing movies in 2005, only one of them--Walk The Line--is what people would refer to as a serious, adult movie.

based on your logic, the studios behind Jarhead, Cinderella Man, Memoirs of a Geisha, Crash, Syriana,etc. put millions of dollars into casting and production and then just fell asleep at the wheel when it came time to promote those movies.

people like shitty movies. they like shitty movies when they star black people and when they star white people.