Should we wring our hands and whine about the loss of innocence and sacred ground?
Should we tie in Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, out Friday - and probably still around for Valentine's Day - as part of the gore-ification of children's stories through the likes of last summer's Snow White and the Huntsman, NBC's Grimm and ABC's Once Upon a Time?
Nah.
Kids back in the 1950s watched cowboys kill Indians, and don't tell Wile E. Coyote and Bluto that cartoons were once innocent.
Similarly, a check of movie sales for holidays shows, well, the public sees what the public wants to see, regardless of any fondness for holiday spirit.
Top-grossing movie released the week of Valentine's Day?
Hannibal, about a serial killer, way back in 2001.
And it wasn't an exception. The next three top-grossers were love-oriented Valentine's Day (2010), Hitch (2005) and The Vow (2012), but they're followed by horror flick Friday the 13th (2009), comic-superhero saga Daredevil (2005) and action thriller Safe House (2012).
Although Hollywood might occasionally tailor a film to a holiday, especially around Christmas, the timing's mostly driven by finding biggest possible audience, says Wharton market professor Josh Eliashberg.
"I don't think there's a trend here," he said of A Good Day to Die Hard's release date. "I think they just want to take advantage of the long weekend."
Valentine's Day falling on a Thursday offers a bonus day advantage to the usual Friday release date.
Other factors: "They don't want to open head to head against another competitor" and it's an R-rated movie, so no reason to wait for summer when the kids are out of school, Eliashberg said.
A check of the box-office charts supports Hollywood's holiday-blindness as not-so-fresh.
Top Easter weekend openings: Clash of the Titans (2010) and Scary Movie 4 (2006) - which wasn't about the Holy Ghost.
Not one religious flick's on the list, unless you count Tyler Perry comedies.
Also high on the list was sci-fi ballistics ballet The Matrix, released way back in 1999.
As for Christmas Day, still tops is Sherlock Holmes (2009) with Robert Downey Jr. bringing fisticuffs to the title role. Les Miserables and Django knocked wholesome Marley and Me (No. 1 in 2008) down to No. 4.
Similarly, sugarplums were hardly dancing in Hollywood heads when Santa debuted Aliens Vs. Predator - Requiem in 2007.
Looking back on it, maybe we should have stop being surprised long ago.
Way back in 1996, the Will Smith blockbuster Independence Day, while saluting a holiday with its title, shattered its spirit by blowing up the White House.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.
