It’s not an easy time for Paramount Pictures.

This weekend, “The Rhythm Section,” a thriller starring Blake Lively and Jude Law, is DOA at the box office. Without keeping any beat, it made just $1.1 million last night. That’s a $3 million weekend if they’re lucky.

“The Rhythm Section” is Paramount’s second bomb this year. The other is “Like a Boss,” which has dropped like a rock. The latter film has made just $21 million. It was supposed to hit like “Girls Trip,” with Tiffany Haddish whooping it up again. This didn’t work. (And I don’t understand why Salma Hayek isn’t trying to do serious movies like “Frida.”)

Paramount was the only major studio to lack a $100 million movie last year. They came achingly close with “Rocketman” at $96 million. But otherwise, it was a bleak showing.

Now they wait. First comes “A Quiet Place, Part 2,” the sequel to John Krasinski’s surprise hit horror film from a couple of years ago. Will lightning strike twice? Hard to say, particularly because Krasinski– who wrote and directed– isn’t in this one unless he’s a ghost. His wife, the wonderful Emily Blunt, takes over, along with Cillian Murphy. That one’s not coming until March 20th.

But Paramount really waits and waits for Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible,” but that’s not until summer 2021. Until then, fingers are crossed for Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick,” coming June 26th. They will pull out all the stops for this one, a sequel more than 30 years in the making. Val Kilmer also returns from the original film, even though he has vocal problems. (We’ll see how they deal with that.) Plus the film is stacked with young talent like Miles Teller and Glen Powell. They’ve even thrown in an Oscar winner– Jennifer Connelly– and Ed Harris and Jon Hamm. How can it lose?

The clock is ticking, though. The only sure thing is Eddie Murphy in “Coming to America 2.” Another long awaited sequel, but the wait is even longer– Christmas.

The Oscars keep adding presenters to their already all star list.

New names today reflect Hollywood royalty with Diane Keaton and long time favorite Steve Martin plus newer award winners like Penelope Cruz. (Hey, what about Javier?) Sigourney Weaver won’t be “Alien”-ated– she’ll be there. Also talk show host James Corden, who survived “Cats,” and the always popular John Wick, aka Keanu Reeves.

From the newer world of stars will come the great Beanie Feldstein from “Booksmart,”George MacKay, from “1917,” and  Zack Gottsagen and Shia LaBeouf from “The Peanut Butter Falcon.” A little PS on Beanie– her brother Jonah Hill presented many years ago, so now we’ve got a siblings match.

To top that off: Maya Rudolph! I’ll watch Maya Rudolph on any show. Maybe she’ll bring Tina and Amy, unless the Golden Globes preclude it.

Plus, of course, Billie Eilish, and musical performances from Elton John, Cynthia Erivo, Idina Menzel, Christy Metz, and Randy Newman.

People I’d like to see: more vets like Jane Fonda, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Shirley Maclaine, etc

Final voting begins for the Oscars, lasting for the next five days. And yes, it’s another weird year for Hollywood.

The acting winners seem a foregone conclusion at this point. Barring some hiccup, Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt, and Laura Dern seem headed to the winners’ circle. They’ve won almost all the other awards leading up to this moment including bellwethers like SAG, Critics Choice, and Golden Globes.

The big question is what will win Best Picture and who will be considered Best Director. The Academy often splits those awards, which makes everyone crazy. Then we see lots of Tweets about “I guess the movie directed itself.” That bromide never gets old. But it’s a way to distribute the honors.

This year, “1917” looks like Best Picture, and Bong Joon-Ho seems like he’d be Best Director for “Parasite.” But you never know, it could be reversed. I liked “Parasite” but don’t understand the fervor for it. The publicity team that worked on it should get an award. Here’s a foreign language film, with violence, that has crossed over into the Hollywood mainstream. It’s extraordinary. If it wins Best Picture, “Parasite” would be the first foreign film to do so. And not that many people have seen it. “Parasite” has only made $31 million, compared to over $100 million for “1917,” “Joker,” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

So the last two awards given out on February 9th will be nail biters. Sadly, one movie out of the race is Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which I loved and put at the top of all my lists. But “The Irishman” will live on, and be talked about and watched for years to come.

One anomaly this year: neither of the leading candidates for Best Picture has an acting nomination. “1917” and “Parasite” didn’t earn one for its players. So the Best Picture will likely not be directed by the Best Director nor acted by the Best Actors. But if “1917” wins, which I think it will, it will have the Best Cinematographer in Roger Deakins. And that’s pretty good.