So, when this gambit of raiding the toybox fails (and it will, because even the morbid curiosity factor won't make these blockbusters -- well, perhaps the LEGO film...) what will the studios turn to next?

@Luzid

Cereal.

Chex Mix: The Movie!

This reminds me of the scene in "BIG" when Tom Hanks is listening to the marketing execs drool over a building that transforms into a robot. Who the hell would want that freakin toy?! But the "numbers" showed that it was going to sell big.
The industry is sinking deeper and deeper into this whirlpool they have created every year. What happens when it finally sinks?

Honestly, who cares? If writers are creative they can take what's given to them and make something of it. Look at "Clue". That was a board game and they made it into something that was funny, had an interesting story and great characters.

I don't see how this shocking. Look at how many movies back in the 80's were centered around bad nostalgia of the 50's? It was an endless stream of malt shops and doo-wop standards. Even "Ghost" had to work in a 50's song. You think a young, hip, pottery-sex'in couple would be listening to frickin' "Unchained Melody" if they had a choice?

I think it will be a bust. I can't even imagien how the brand "ViewMaster" will translate into a 95 minute movie.

I guess they could have a world inside a ViewMaster where someone gets trapped, but come on, that could be a cup of coffee or a TV (Poltergeist, anyone - they never said what kind of TV it was).

How about Lego? Let's see, a little kid builds something out of Legos that turns out to be wow, can't think of anything.

The problem isn't that stars can't open (Mamma Mia, Iron Man), the problem is that the scripts suck.
You can't make a good movie from a bad script but you can make a bad movie from a good script.