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Every childhood story carries a particular theme. The eldest in the tribe provide wisdom and guidance to the next generation. Then, they die horribly, especially in Disney animated movies. The premise exists in many settings. Some say that they are being put out to pasture. Others are less subtly taken out back and shot.

The younger iteration of mammals is always itching for their time in the spotlight. In order to get there, their elders must cede to the powerful will of youth. In 2013, worldwide movie going audiences unanimously selected the “take them out back and shoot them” approach as a shocking number of aging action heroes were soundly rejected at the box office.

The causality for this year’s unrequested euthanasia of the old guard occurred in August of 2010. The Expendables featured a Who’s Who of the action genre. Perhaps nobody took note at the time, but Jason Statham, Jet Li and others were as important to the project as the creator, Sylvester Stallone. Yes, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger were in the movie. The sticking point is that each of their roles was limited, barely more than a cameo. The amount of credit they were ceded was wildly disproportionate.

The Expendables was a massive hit, of course. It earned $103 million domestically as well as $165.2 million overseas. The project sounds like a huge blockbuster yet the early warning signal was there. The Expendables had a production budget of $80 million. The explanation was simple. The actors who star in the film are not only among the most proven in the industry. They also possess the largest egos. Even if they desperately needed to make a comeback, they did not take smaller salaries.

The project moved forward because all of the names involved were proven commodities overseas. Some of them pre-dated the current ascension of foreign box office, meaning that they could sell tickets outside of North America at a time when few could. The Expendables was a tremendous concept enhanced by the profiles of its cast. Studio analysts paid attention to the $268 million performer. As they deconstructed the project, the washed up stars suddenly seemed like valuable assets. Hollywood loves a comeback, after all.

The Expendables 2 reinforced the belief that everything old was new again. The price tag of the sequel crept up to $100 million. An increased price tag for the second film is business as usual in Hollywood, so nobody flinched at the added expense. When The Expendables 2 grossed roughly $45 million more worldwide than its predecessor, the various actors had regained their stroke in the industry. All of them were quickly tied to new projects. And that is when the bubble burst.

During the third week of January, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the first victim of the fickle public. On paper, his project looked like a winner. The Last Stand placed the former governor of California as the sheriff of a border town squaring off against a drug kingpin. Arnie’s films were never known for their subtlety. Still, the deck was stacked in favor of the project when popular comedian Johnny Knoxville was cast as the wise-cracking sidekick.

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