From the latest edition of Richard Rushfield’s The Ankler: “It’s nice to have a good, old-fashioned complete disaster. There have been flops this year, certainly, but not really full-blooded systemic meltdowns. A flop like Charlie’s Angels feels so half-hearted, a flop mostly for want of really trying. Say what you will about Cats, but it’s not forgettable.

“Universal threw themselves in headlong, gave it everything they had, and somehow everything still went wrong. And it happened to what might be the most responsible, sober-minded studio in Hollywood; certainly not a place given to crazy bets.

“This is the blood sacrifice the gods demand from Hollywood, at least once a year.

“We need these showbiz equivalents of human offerings at the altar now and then to remind us that we work in a business that is not in any way subject to sane rules and predictable outcomes; a business that is to a great degree dependent on the whims of the gods.

“Take a look at the Cats reactions oh ye of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Verizon. Stick around Hollywood long enough and this too will be yours. In all likelihood, on the film closest to your heart. Beware dream projects!”