People like brands. Hollywood knows that. So six of the top 10 movies this weekend were tie-ins to prior movies or books.

Despite having terrible reviews, “Daddy’s Home 2” took in $30 million this weekend according to estimates. The original movie opened two years ago to a $38 million weekend.

Even though it’s said to be boring beyond belief, the new version of “Murder on the Orient Express” did $28 million. It’s nowhere as good as the 1974 version, but it’s a title people know.

“Thor” is still number 1 after three weeks (it’s not garbage but it is a comic book). “Thor” is part of the Marvel series of films that now gluts all-time charts.

“Bad Mom’s Christmas” also held up in the number 4 spot. (It’s probably garbage but I want to see it. On a plane.) It’s the sequel to “Bad Moms.” “Bad Moms Mother’s Day” has to be next.

The number 6 movie is Tyler Perry’s latest Halloween Madea movie. There are a lot of Madea movies.

Number 8 is “Blade Runner 2049,” not a hit but hanging in there. “2049” is a pale follow up to the 1985 original, but the name is well known.

Even as we speak, more reboots, revivals, new takes, sequels, three-quels are being prepared. Disney has just announced a new “Star Wars” trilogy after the current one is done. “Star Trek” is on CBS All Access and will likely return as a movie. And so on and so forth. Next spring comes the fourth ever “A Star is Born” movie, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. It won’t be the last.

I’ve finally seen David Gordon Green’s “Stronger” thanks to an Academy DVD. Roadside Attractions, famous for burying films on release, isn’t exactly aggressive about getting publicity. The film made $4 million US and another mil or so internationally, and just faded away. It’s about the Boston Marathon bombing but I’m not sure people up there even went to it.

On top of that, Peter Berg made a really good movie called “Patriots Day” with Mark Wahlberg about the bombing. That one made $31 million and another $18 mil overseas. It could be done, if done right. Oh well.

“Stronger” is a strange movie. It’s based on the story of Jeff Bauman, a Costco employee who went to the finish line of the 2013 marathon to woo back his girlfriend. He was blown up by the Tsaenaev brothers and lost both of his legs. It’s a tragic story. But somehow Bauman, who was basically a bystander, got a book deal, the book was published, it became this movie.

Bauman’s a nice guy, but he’s not a hero (which he acknowledges) and after a while you wonder why you’re watching this movie. He didn’t save anyone, he’s not that smart, he’s not going to do anything great once he recovers. His family is like the one from David O. Russell’s “The Fighter”– hard Boston accents, they smoke, drink and curse like sailors.

So it’s clear why there was no audience. But two of the actors are standouts: Gyllenhaal and Miranda Richardson as his mother. Each should be rewarded with awards noms this season. Also, the editor, Dylan Tichenor, deserves kudos. Jake looks realistically like he’s lost his legs. Movie magic is something. Gyllenhaal’s performance is intense and nuanced. I hope it’s not overlooked. Richardson is a hoot, and you know the smoking, drinking, cursing Boston mother is always good for a nod (see Melissa Leo).

If Jake is nominated for an Oscar, his competition right now is sketchy. Everyone’s up for Gary Goldman as Winston Churchill in “The Darkest Hour.” It’s presumed that both Daniel Day Lewis and Tom Hanks will make it in for “The Phantom Thread” and “The Post,” but no one’s seen those movies. I’d put Sam Rockwell in lead for “Three Billboards.” He was excellent. Newcomer Timothee Chalamet is also getting a big push for “Call Me By Your Name.”

What if DDL or Hanks doesn’t work out? Then we’ve got a problem. This was not a good years for leading men. You may see a move for Adam Sandler in “Meyerowitz.” But it really hurt that “Dunkirk” didn’t have a leading man performance, all supporting. Because I do suspect that “Dunkirk” is inching closer and closer to Best Picture at the moment of everything that’s been seen.

Stay tuned…

The movie box office is mostly in disarray as the year ends. Comic book movies make hundreds of millions, everything else is a crap shoot.

So is the case with George Clooney’s “Suburbicon.” This weekend, Paramount finally pulled the plug and withdrew “Suburbicon” from 1,700 theatres after just three weeks. In its fourth week, the hybrid Coen Brothers film and race contemplation is playing in just 281 locations.

That’s a big studio release with Matt Damon and Julianne Moore, with a budget of at least $60 million. So far “Suburbicon” has made just $5.6 million. It’s a total write off for the studio, which is not seeing hits this fall.

The main problem with “Suburbicon” is the filmmakers not seeing the problems with tone in the screenplay. “Suburbicon” is two movies– a Coen Brothers retread of “Fargo” married to a lecture about race in the suburbs in the early 60s. Neither idea is very good. And then they are backed into each other hoping there will be a fit. There isn’t. It’s very hard to get the Coens’ unusual pitch just right, even for the Coens. Theirs is a very specific tune. Clooney missed it by a mile.

It’s not like Clooney hasn’t made good movies. “Good Night and Good Luck” is excellent, so is “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.” But I wish he would stick to acting. (See “Michael Clayton” or “Up in the Air” where he’s sensational.)

Paramount is about to undergo a sea change of major proportions, so it’s smart cut the losses quickly.

The Louis CK story deepens.

First, he’s admitted to the acts of sexual perversion he’s been accused of, in a statement below.

Second, his movie– which The Orchard has dropped– arrived in critics mailboxes today. I’m halfway through it, and it’s unwatchable.

In “I Love You, Daddy” Louis plays a rich New York TV producer. Charlie Day plays Louis’s sidekick who simulates masturbation at least a couple of times while Edie Falco, playing Louie’s assistant, is in the room.

John Malkovich plays a famous movie director who has a thing for young girls, stalks them, and is said to be a pedophile.

Chloe Grace Moretz plays Louis’s oversexualized 17 year old daughter, whom Malkovich preys on and with whom Louis is unnaturally obsessed.

The acting level is a D. The cinematography and editing are supposed to mimic a Woody Allen movie. “I Love You, Daddy” is shot in black and while and music left over from a bad Douglas Sirk movie.

It’s painful, sad film that no one should ever see.

With insurance, The Orchard– the small distributor that paid $5 million for this thing– has dodged a bullet.

Here’s Louis’s real life statement:

“These stories are true,” C.K. says in a statement sent by his rep Lewis Kay. “At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my d–k without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your d–k isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”

“I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position. I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it. There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.”

“I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.”

He goes on, “The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and I Love You Daddy. I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie. and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.”

He concludes the statement, “I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother. I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.”

We can scratch “I Love You, Daddy” from the fall movie list. Distributor The Orchard has dropped Louis C.K.’s film after the accusations that have been leveled against him in the New York Times.

The Orchard paid $5 million to distribute the film, and now they will have to try and get their money back. They’re a very small distributor in the first place. Considering the odd nature of the film– it involves a man (Louis CK) obsessed with his 20 year old daughter (Chloe Grace Moretz)– it’s strange that they wwanted it at all.. There are themes of pedophilia and apparently a scene that involves masturbation. In real life, Louis CK is alleged to have masturbated in front of several women.

The New York Times published a story yesterday afternoon that revealed the accusations. In that time, Louis CK’s whole career has been taken apart– HBO is removing all his films and concerts from their service, for example.

“I Love You, Daddy” was a sneak screening in Toronto. There was a big clamor to get into see it. But once people did, the buzz was off. It didn’t sound very palatable and now we’re never going to know. Unlike the Getty movie– in which Kevin Spacey is being replaced– there’s no desire to do something similar here.

It looks like Mel Gibson’s comeback in Hollywood has been blunted. His comeback film, “Daddy’s Home 2,” is a bust.

The sequel to “Daddy’s Home” has scored a 7– that’s seven– among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It has 25 negative reviews and 2 positive ones.

Gibson plays Mark Wahlberg’s father in the movie. Until last night no reviews had appeared for the movie, which opens today.

The San Francisco Chronicle says: “By any standard, every person in the world of Daddy’s Home 2 would be scarred for life by the events in the film. The real happy ending is that no one in the audience has to go home with these people. ”

A Toronto blogger notes: “Mel Gibson’s Kurt tries to tell kids a joke about “two dead hookers” (i.e. violence against women) and mentors his grandson on how to grope.”

For Paramount, “Daddy’s Home 2” is strike three in a fall that has gone terribly wrong. Their first two films, “Mother!” and “Suburbicon,” were also box office and critical disappointments. A coming fourth film, “Downsizing,” may not be received much better. The studio also lost $1 billion in financing from Chinese investors. And their beloved executive, Megan Colligan, left after a bitter struggle not to be usurped by men. She’s thinking of filing gender discrimination charges.

For Gibson, that’s it. Since his scandals, he’s been on screen only in junk movies. He directed “Hacksaw Ridge,” which got good reviews although it was hackneyed and overdone. But he wasn’t in it. He should stop now. He’s not coming back.

Hollywood is in free fall.

Comedian Louis CK and Andre Balazs, owner of the fabled Chateau  Marmont have each been accused in the New York Times of gross sexual misconduct.

On top of that, Paramount’s “Daddy’s Home 2,” featuring the vile Mel Gibson, is so bad that at 4:30 on the day before its release there are no reviews for the movie.

Plus, Ridley Scott is re-filming whole sections of his new movie, due for release in a month, so he can replaced accused and alleged molester Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer.

Warner Bros. has had to cut off $450 million in funding because it was coming from another accused sexual harasser, Brett Ratner.

The Weinstein Company is basically gone.

Paramount also lost $1 billion in funding from Chinese investors this week, maybe because they were unimpressed with the studio’s four-for-four fall season catastrophe.

Fox is trying to sell its movie studio to Disney, maybe because they’ve seen or read the reviews for “Murder on the Orient Express.”

The Daily Mail is reporting that someone connected to Harvey Weinstein tried to get a New York proecutor to somehow get the psychiatric files of his rape accuser Paz de la Huerta.

Is it the end of days?

The Balazs story is going to be extremely meaningful if true because he owns the Chateau, the Standard Hotels in both NY and LA. and the Mercer—all hot spots. If the hotels suddenly become shunned, that’s a huge upheaval.

The Louis CK story could bring to an end the career of a popular comedian whose backstory was dependent on his family life and his reputation as a father.

What’s next?