Last year, of the ten highest grossing films at the American box office, nine were adaptations of one of the following: a Marvel property, a Disney property, a line of toys or a fantasy novel. You could easily guess what movies these were – your X-Men, your Hobbits, your Legos and Transformers – but what was that one outlier, that one movie that didn't fit the mold of mass-produced comic book movies or animated films? That movie was in fact the highest grossing film  of last year, and it was an adaptation itself, 'American Sniper.'As you would assume, 'American Sniper' wasn't the runaway hit overseas as it was in the States, but neither were the rest of the films from the American top 10. Every major foreign market only featured a small handful of American blockbusters in their top 10. The rest of the spots in each country went to smaller adult comedies and dramas, the types of movies we almost never see atop our box office. Why is that, and where are those movies in America? It feels like we're told in the US that the reason we only have blockbuster movies here is because the rest of the world craves big, American spectacle. Then why does it feel like our main exports are comic book movies that half of the world doesn't even really want to see?This week on the podcast, Jack O'Brien is joined by Cracked editors David Bell and Josh Sargent to discuss the seeming disparity between the size and the quality of modern-day blockbusters, their effectiveness internationally, and how the process of developing movies has changed over the last hundred years.Go to   parachutehome.com/cracked  and Parachute will give you $25 off on your first order with promo code cracked.

Last year, of the ten highest grossing films at the American box office, nine were adaptations of one of the following: a Marvel property, a Disney property, a line of toys or a fantasy novel. You could easily guess what movies these were – your X-Men, your Hobbits, your Legos and Transformers – but what was that one outlier, that one movie that didn't fit the mold of mass-produced comic book movies or animated films? That movie was in fact the highest grossing film of last year, and it was an adaptation itself, 'American Sniper.'As you would assume, 'American Sniper' wasn't the runaway hit overseas as it was in the States, but neither were the rest of the films from the American top 10. Every major foreign market only featured a small handful of American blockbusters in their top 10. The rest of the spots in each country went to smaller adult comedies and dramas, the types of movies we almost never see atop our box office. Why is that, and where are those movies in America? It feels like we're told in the US that the reason we only have blockbuster movies here is because the rest of the world craves big, American spectacle. Then why does it feel like our main exports are comic book movies that half of the world doesn't even really want to see?This week on the podcast, Jack O'Brien is joined by Cracked editors David Bell and Josh Sargent to discuss the seeming disparity between the size and the quality of modern-day blockbusters, their effectiveness internationally, and how the process of developing movies has changed over the last hundred years.Go to parachutehome.com/cracked and Parachute will give you $25 off on your first order with promo code cracked.

Last year, of the ten highest grossing films at the American box office, nine were adaptations of one of the following: a Marvel property, a Disney property, a line of toys or a fantasy novel. You could easily guess what movies these were – your X-Men, your Hobbits, your Legos and Transformers – but what was that one outlier, that one movie that didn't fit the mold of mass-produced comic book movies or animated films? That movie was in fact the highest grossing film &nbsp;of last year, and it was an adaptation itself, 'American Sniper.'As you would assume, 'American Sniper' wasn't the runaway hit overseas as it was in the States, but neither were the rest of the films from the American top 10. Every major foreign market only featured a small handful of American blockbusters in their top 10. The rest of the spots in each country went to smaller adult comedies and dramas, the types of movies we almost never see atop our box office. Why is that, and where are those movies in America? It feels like we're told in the US that the reason we only have blockbuster movies here is because the rest of the world craves big, American spectacle. Then why does it feel like our main exports are comic book movies that half of the world doesn't even really want to see?This week on the podcast, Jack O'Brien is joined by Cracked editors David Bell and Josh Sargent to discuss the seeming disparity between the size and the quality of modern-day blockbusters, their effectiveness internationally, and how the process of developing movies has changed over the last hundred years.Go to &nbsp; parachutehome.com/cracked &nbsp;and Parachute will give you $25 off on your first order with promo code cracked.

Secret Rules that Determine if a Movie is Successful

Today Jack O’Brien talks about memory and why we suck at it. He’ll examine the idea of flashbulb memories by chatting with senior Cracked editor Robert Brockway about a personal anecdote of his that involves mushrooms and a wolf. Then, Jack & Robert discuss what’s weird about George Bush’s recollection of how he found out about the September 11 attacks and whether 9/11 was an inside job.

Today Jack O’Brien talks about memory and why we suck at it. He’ll examine the idea of flashbulb memories by chatting with senior Cracked editor Robert Brockway about a personal anecdote of his that involves mushrooms and a wolf. Then, Jack &amp; Robert discuss what’s weird about George Bush’s recollection of how he found out about the September 11 attacks and whether 9/11 was an inside job.

3 Flashbulb Memories

On this week’s minisode, Jack O’Brien & Michael Swaim discuss how comedy ages, the idea of a comedy vanishing point in culture, and the connection between comedy & the Flynn effect.

On this week’s minisode, Jack O’Brien &amp; Michael Swaim discuss how comedy ages, the idea of a comedy vanishing point in culture, and the connection between comedy &amp; the Flynn effect.

2 Minisode: Comedy

In the inaugural episode of The Cracked Podcast, co-hosts Jack O’Brien & Michael Swaim discuss generation gaps. They ask Earwolf hosts about semen pumping, talk to Daniel O’Brien about incorrect pop culture memories, and have a conversation on the Flynn effect.

In the inaugural episode of The Cracked Podcast, co-hosts Jack O’Brien &amp; Michael Swaim discuss generation gaps. They ask Earwolf hosts about semen pumping, talk to Daniel O’Brien about incorrect pop culture memories, and have a conversation on the Flynn effect.

1 Generation Gaps

Listen to The Cracked Podcast every Monday on Earwolf.

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<p>Facts, jokes, and more from the Internet’s leading comedy website, Cracked.com. Fill your week and your brain with hilarious, mind-blowing revelations that’ll make you the most interesting person in every room you’re in.</p>

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