“We’re in the midst of a comedy drought, at least on the big screen, and it’s partly the result of a Catch-22. The first issue is comedies aren’t as important to studios as they once were, because they don’t do as well overseas as an action or superhero movie might. Because a comedy is already a risk, it’s only likely to get made if it’s a known entity. Hence we get a bunch of sequels — lame retreads that aren’t very good but coast along on name recognition. Audiences don’t go to see the movies because they’re bad, which indicates to studios that audiences don’t want comedy. But the genre isn’t the problem. Lazy movies are.”

Source: Comedies dominated the box office 30 years ago. Where are they now when we need them? – The Washington Post