As an interesting aside to Lal's comments about the tastes of the moviegoing public, I have perused the list at
www.boxofficemojo.com, and found that of the
THIRTY top grossing movies in the USA, only three (Titanic, Passion of the Christ, and Forrest Gump) could be called realistic -- in that none involved elements of the fantastic (leaving aside the fact that Forrest Gump didn't really exist...). The rest are either Sci-Fi (Star Wars, Jurassic Park), Fantasy (LOTR, Harry Potter), or Animated (Shrek, Finding Nemo).
Maybe we really are as dumb as Lal thinks we are.