Movies are gateways to another reality 

Whenever we watch movies, the stories within them captivates us. Even a terrible movie can draw us into their story because we're eager at how the ending will be. Have we ever thought of movies though as visions that we could see if certain scenarios or things existed? Movies exist for us for our curiosity to be fulfilled. In other words, movies are like alternate imaginative realities that we get to witness.

 I believe that the most popular movies are those that portray very well of that imaginative reality realistically as possible. We see movies that are highly detailed in scenery, like the movie Avatar. It answered the question of how would life be if there were aliens that were "savages" on their planet. How about apocalypse movies with fantasy creatures like zombies? We have Shaun of the Dead to make us laugh at the expense of people getting eaten alive. Survival movies that seem a bit far fetched? Life of Pi brings out that hallucinating feel with animals on a life boat. Ever wondered what it's like being in a candy factory or a whole different world just beyond a closet? They've already made movies like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Narnia! All of these movies are creative possibilities that describe what would probably happen if we were in situations like this.

Susan Sontag's "The Imagination of Disaster" explains how we immerse ourselves in earthquake/tsunami movies because we know its a likely situation that could happen, so it's best to watch it safely than experience it first hand. "Creating the Myth" by Linda Seger says the protagonist is the hero/heroine of their story struggling though the toughest challenges enough to reach their goals. Rita Kempley's "Mystical Black Characters Play Complex Cinematic Role" even talks on how movies place black people as great prominent helpers with magical powers. Basically, an imaginative reality lies beyond inside the movies, and we are lucky to see them.