The best thing to come out of 2004 is amount of surprise hits that were able to maintain some theatre presence longer than just opening weekend. The only thing that hurt most surprise hits for 2004 was invisible barrier that would not allow a lot of films to break $100 million mark. Here are some of films that were able to break that mark [with a brief thought on how they were]:

Shark Tale- I would hope this out of a high cast CGI animation I, Robot- I still don't know if I liked this film or not. Seemed a little rushed. National Treasure- One of best surprise films all year. The Village- Only got passed $100 million thanks to hype.

Luckily, Hollywood did not have to rely on only these films. Even though industry hoped to have at least double number of films to get passed $100 million mark, there were some other sleeper films that helped maintain high 2004 numbers. Some of these films include Mean Girls [a teenie bopper that anybody could like], Man on Fire, and The Notebook, Friday Night Lights and Napoleon Dynamite.

What's Wrong with Movies in 2004? Eternal Sunshine takes you on a journey through love and mind.The best example to give for what happened to movies in 2004 is upcoming Academy Awards. Take a close look at nominated films, what we have are dramas and bio-pics. People are losing interest; our top rated films are ones that few people saw. We don't have a Lord of Rings this year, or any other film that people want to sit down and root for. Want further proof? Why do you think Chris Rock is stepping in as host in order to atract a younger crowd?

Also, where hell is Eternal Sunshine for Spotless Mind? I know it has a few nominations, but it deserves a few more. The film, starring Jim Carrey, only grossed $34 million in ticket sales [domestically] and was probably one of most unique and plain out cool films of year. Forget biographies and straight forward dramas, Spotless offers up an extremely unique outlook on love and new ways to handle it. And, mind you, it falls entirely away from simple conventions overly used in films during 2004.

In conclusion-- Hollywood needs to get people back in theatres and buying tickets for films that deserve hyped attention. The best way to do this is by creating blockbusters that can actually remain in theatres longer than an opening weekend or two. Viewers are tired of films that just go through motions and are now seeking something extremely polished or unique. Films of 2004 had lost ability of 'word of mouth', but I expect that 2005 should regain all of this-- as Hollywood now seems ready to take some chances.