­Turns out, in a fabulous and frightening irony, Hollywood’s own creative bankruptcy in 2007 was apparently a one-way ticket to unprecedented riches. Of the top five highest grossing films of the year, four of them were sequels, and one was based on a toy line from back in the ’80s. Four of them—“Spiderman 3,” “Shrek the Third,” “Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End” (three seems to be a magic number here) and “Transformers”—all grossed more than $300 million apiece—a feat never before achieved by any one film in a single year. Against much fear and anticipation that such a glut of bloated tent pole productions would cannibalize each other’s box office potential, they inexplicably seemed to feed each other. Not too shabby for a slate of films with about three original ideas among them.

Where a screenwriter was once expected to fuel new and compelling ideas, it would seem that such value currently lies in the ability to hack out carbon copies of stories we’ve already seen. Even as these franchises thrived, however, it bears noting that not one of last year’s new franchise start-ups managed to get off the ground. It will be a miracle if “The Golden Compass,” which, to date, hasn’t covered even a quarter of its estimated production costs, ever sees a second installment. “Nancy Drew” was also unable to crack the mystery of money-making, and the woefully miscrafted “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising” refused to rise on any level. In a business so clearly driven by familiarity and previous victory, one wonders what the Lala-Land suits are going to have left to mine next year.

The big name films of 2007 also serve to illustrate another disquieting shift away from traditional human artistry. Sporting hardcore levels of computer effects is not unusual for huge studio blockbusters, but this year there was a noticeable increase in actors appearing onscreen as digitized models instead of in their own skins. “Performance capture” would seem to be making a move to eclipse the actual craft of performance, and the teetering piles of cash these movies made indicates that average Joe Ticket-buyer might prefer it that way.

As Toby MacGuire’s CGI spider-self vaulted through the caverns of a digitized New York City, and Mike Meyers continued to be re-rendered as a hulking baby-faced troll, “Beowulf” made the fateful, possibly inevitable step of replacing actors wholesale with computerized clones fashioned in their own likenesses. If Oscar winners like Anthony Hopkins and world class hotties like Angelina Jolie can be traded out for such precise but soulless digital duplicates, how long will it be until we see a brand new movie starring lost icons like John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe or Bruce Lee? If the successes of 2007 serves as any indication, it’s going to happen soon.

The Hollywood machine seems to be turning its back on scribes with original ideas, even refusing to give them a fair share of the revenues their work generates, thereby driving the Writers Guild of America to enact its much publicized strike. And, if the ticket-buying public continues to reward the industry’s predisposition for mindless, soulless fare, the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon. With dozens of next year’s projects already derailed by the Writers strike, and with The Screen Actors Guild beginning new contract negotiations in April, we could see some troubling times ahead.

Now for the good news.

Although sadly unrewarded in the box office, many filmmakers actually did make great movies in 2007. Just for the record, let’s not neglect the good things that happened last year:

Judd Apatow rewrote the rules of comedy with straightforward yet hilarious character-driven flicks like “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “Walk Hard.”

Ben Affleck reinvented himself, proving to be a sly hand behind the camera with “Gone Baby Gone.”

Even while revolving around a talking rat, Brad Bird and the Pixar crew turned “Ratatouille” into a mature and original tale of uncommon depth and sensuality.

The profound nuance and subtlety of “Persepolis” reminded us what can be achieved by good old fashioned hand drawn images, when married to honest, interesting and engaging storytelling. (Take that, Beowulf!)

Last year also saw the return of some of indie film’s greatest talent with fine works like David Fincher’s “Zodiac,” which dared to take its time; Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There,” which broke all conventions of the modern music bio-pic; The Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” which refused to offer any answers; 83-year-old Sindey Lumet’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” which rivaled the finest work of his very long career; “Sweeney Todd,” which proved that Tim Burton’s dark side is black and white and red all over; and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” which showed Martin Scorsese (“Gangs of New York”) how to really unleash Daniel Day Lewis.

Whether it belongs in the good news category or not we’ll leave to readers’ gentle discretion, but 2007 also marked a, well, upswing in the graphic depiction of male nudity on screen. “300” came right out of the gate with an entire legion of ripped out soldiers withstanding full frontal assault while sporting little more than loincloths and gritted teeth, and audiences were treated to no less than two fully naked brawls in “Beowulf” and “Eastern Promises.” Harry Potter’s wand made its controversial stage debut with “Equus,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, and, after 20 years of teasing, Bart Simpson’s manhood was finally revealed in all its puny yellow glory. And let’s not forget the unprecedented deluge of juvenile penis drawings from “Superbad” (Apatow has actually promised to sneak a penis into every movie he makes from now on. We’ll keep our eyes peeled).

Though drawing any direct correlation to this, er, rise may be dubious at best, the movie industry has, in fact, enjoyed its first increase in box office receipts in years, gaining a 5 percent lead over 2006—a modest enough turn at first glance, but, in light of the steadily declining numbers over the last decade, a pretty good sign for theatrical releases. It could be that the novelty of staying home and waiting for the next Netflix delivery may finally be wearing thin, but theaters across the country have been investing in refits for their auditoriums—big cushy bouncy chairs in stadium settings and gigantic screens. As the proliferation of “On Demand” and “I-Tunes” downloadability continues, it remains to be seen if the swing will be as positive in 2008. But, as more and more films like “Beowulf” are created and marketed specifically for gargantuan six-story Imax screens, it seems promising that the “community experience” is making a comeback.