LOS ANGELES - From the polarizing "Ghostbusters" remake to the controversy over female versions of James Bond and Doctor Who, Hollywood's proclivity for gender-swapped retreads is among its most enduring and contentious.
The trend - seen as empowering or annoying, depending on who you ask - is getting fresh attention with "Ocean's 8" due for release on Friday, "Overboard" still in theaters and "What Men Want" coming out in January.
The new "Overboard" swapped Goldie Hawn from the 1987 comedy for Eugenio Derbez and Kurt Russell for Anna Faris, and has grossed a healthy $70 million worldwide on an estimated $12 million budget.
But it was disliked by the vast majority of critics, according to online reviews collator Rotten Tomatoes, which dismissed it as a "remake that fails to clear the fairly low bar set by the original."
There's nothing new in Hollywood, and gender-swapping has been popular since Howard Hawks cast Rosalind Russell for "His Girl Friday" (1940) in a part played by a man in the source movie, "The Front Page" (1931).
A slew of female-led remakes followed - from "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" (1981) and "The Next Karate Kid" (1994) to "American Psycho II: All American Girl" (2002) but were largely seen as pale imitations.
"Ghostbusters" (2016) could well be studied in future film history classes for the bizarre backlash it received from the legion of "ghostbros" who swore lifelong loyalty to the 1984 original.
Much of the criticism was grounded in straightforward misogyny - with a certain kind of male moviegoer scandalized both by the presumption of a remake and by the very idea of women trying to be funny.
With two months to go until its release, its trailer had become the ninth most-disliked YouTube video in history, with over one million users down-voting it into oblivion.
Various entertainment media estimated the eventual losses for Sony and its partners at somewhere in the $55-75 million region, despite the film garnering mainly positive reviews.
The fact that these movies keep coming out despite the missteps is a sign of progress and a "minor miracle," according to Kelly Konda, of the We Minored in Film entertainment blog.
"This used to be a one-and-done ordeal... However, with 'Ghostbusters,' Hollywood took a big swing on a female-led project, and didn't overreact to its failure," he wrote.
The premise of "What Women Want" (2000) - Mel Gibson as a marketing executive who is suddenly able to hear women's thoughts - lends itself more obviously to a gender-flipped remake than most.
Taraji P. Henson, who does the honors in "What Men Want" (2019), told AFP at the recent CinemaCon industry gathering in Las Vegas her role was an empowering statement for women, but also a learning experience.
"I was like, 'How are they going to make this interesting?'" said the "Empire" and "Hidden Figures" star.
"But then I read the script and I'm like, 'Wow, men are really insecure about their looks, just like women!' I think that's going to be great, for women to see that." - AFP
