When the Olympic torch was lit earlier this month, Hollywood watched its box office go up in flames. Moviegoing dropped more than 20% as four new films--Disney's Kazaam, MGM's Fled, Universal's The Frighteners and Columbia's Multiplicity--withered in a dreadful midsummer conflagration.
It would be easy to say all eyes were on Atlanta, but the film industry has problems that won't end with the closing ceremonies. "The movie business isn't bleeding to death, but it's bleeding," says Herbert Allen Jr., the entertainment industry's eminent investment banker. It wouldn't appear that way from the resounding success of such megahits as Independence Day and...