But after Sony's "Vantage Point" defied expectations to become a modest box office success with legs -- the film opened at No. 1 on Feb. 22 and has grossed $60 million in its first 24 days in theaters -- some are predicting that the modestly budgeted political thriller is poised to make a bigscreen comeback.

Last week, Paramount also showed faith in the genre, kicking off negotiations with Sam Raimi to revive Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan franchise that has grossed $781.5 million worldwide.

"Our business has a habit of being cyclical," says producer Chuck Roven. "When you have a plethora of one kind of subject matter, another kind is not in vogue. Then, somebody does one that's a surprising hit -- let's call 'Vantage Point' being that one -- I think you'll see more now. I don't think that they (were) not being written, it's that they (were) not being bought."

What most surprised Hollywood was the ability of "Vantage Point" -- a throwback presidential assassination conspiracy pics -- to play to younger crowds. The audience was split nearly 50-50 for over- and under-30-year-olds, which helped buffer the film's performance from poor reviews.

The genre had long been a staple of the studio slate. Throughout the '70s, '80s and '90s, the majors churned out a steady stream of glossy and crowd-pleasing pics such as Jack Ryan pic "The Hunt for Red October," "The Parallax View," "Three Days of the Condor," "No Way Out" and "Gorky Park."

But since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, studios had begun to wean themselves from the once-reliable box office earner. Stray projects such as Paramount's Mark Wahlberg starrer "Shooter" -- based on a book penned in the early '90s -- and Universal's "Breach" peppered the release schedule, but the offerings were overshadowed by the onslaught of reasonably priced comedies.

"They just haven't been in vogue," adds Roven, who is producing the upcoming political thriller "The International" for Sony -- a film that spent more than six years in development.

"Vantage Point" proved that studios can serve up modestly budgeted political popcorn pics -- ones that offer enough intrigue to feel relevant but don't bludgeon viewers with a message like United Artists' war-themed "Lions for Lambs," which was one of several high-profile box office duds cutting too close to real-life events. Others included the Reese Witherspoon-Jake Gyllenhaal starrer "Rendition" from New Line and Warner Independent's "In the Valley of Elah."

"Vantage Point" also differs from Universal's "Bourne" franchise, which has proved to be a wildly successful spy venture. "The Bourne Identity" was never intended as a modestly budgeted effort -- costing $60 million in 2002 dollars -- and therefore it carried greater risk. And the "Vantage Point" prototype shouldn't be confused with films like "The Constant Gardener," which feature corrupt governments but are clearly aimed at an arthouse crowd. "Vantage Point" demonstrates that there is still a mass market for espionage in a post-Cold War, post-9/11 landscape.

Jeff Blake, the studio's worldwide marketing and distribution topper, says political thrillers work because they resonate overseas.

"What's particularly effective about this genre is it not only plays well in the U.S., it travels really well," Blake says.

In fact, the $40 million-budgeted film nabbed an additional $40.3 million internationally including a first-place U.K. bow March 9 weekend bringing its total haul to $100 million.

Sony alum Amy Baer, who left the studio last year to head up Leslie Moonves' fledgling CBS Films, is betting big on the genre. The top priority for the mini-studio is a political thriller franchise based on a series of books by best-selling author Vince Flynn.

One of Baer's first moves on the job was acquiring the rights to the books, which feature a throwback protagonist via CIA operative Mitch Rapp. Titles in the series, published by Simon & Schuster, include: "Transfer of Power," "The Third Option," "Separation of Power," "Executive Power," "Memorial Day," "Consent to Kill," "Act of Treason" and "Protect and Defend."

"When I got here, I wanted to find a character-based franchise," says Baer, who has a $50 million budget cap per film. "I can't make a 'Transformers' or a 'Spider-Man,' but I can make a character-based franchise (on that budget)."

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose forays in the genre include "Shooter" as well as the Vince Flynn series, says a strong protagonist is crucial.

"I think the key is a great central character, particularly with the political thriller," says di Bonaventura, who is also developing the Middle East political thriller "Dubai" at Paramount.

Di Bonaventura and Sony are taking a page from the past with the in-development project "Edwin A. Salt," which centers on a CIA officer who is fingered as a Russian sleeper spy.

Reaching back to pre-glasnost days might not seem so crazy given the constantly shifting nature of world affairs. In fact, the timeless quality of Cold War relations might seem less dated than plotlines derived from the headlines in the past few years.

"The politics of the world changes, so what feels relevant and timely, a couple of years later feels dated and old," Baer explains. "We had a book in development at Sony, and it was being fast-tracked. And then 9/11 happened, and you couldn't make the movie. It was completely relevant in the pre-9/11 world, and it was a hot potato on Sept. 12."