Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Media-dependent entertainment
- 3 Movie macroeconomics
- 4 Making and marketing movies
- 5 Financial accounting in movies and television
- 6 Music
- 7 Broadcasting
- 8 Cable
- 9 Publishing
- 10 Toys and games
- Part III Live entertainment
- Part IV Roundup
- Appendix A Sources of information
- Appendix B Major games of chance
- Appendix C Supplementary data
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
3 - Movie macroeconomics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2015
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Media-dependent entertainment
- 3 Movie macroeconomics
- 4 Making and marketing movies
- 5 Financial accounting in movies and television
- 6 Music
- 7 Broadcasting
- 8 Cable
- 9 Publishing
- 10 Toys and games
- Part III Live entertainment
- Part IV Roundup
- Appendix A Sources of information
- Appendix B Major games of chance
- Appendix C Supplementary data
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
You oughta be in pictures!
– Ziegfield Follies, 1934A more appealing pitch to investors would be hard to find. Many people imagine that nothing could be more fun and potentially more lucrative than making movies. After all, in its first four years, Star Wars returned profits of over $150 million on an initial investment of $11 million (and many millions more on re-release 20 years later). Nonetheless, ego gratification rather than money may often be the only return on an investment in film. As in other endeavors, what you see is not always what you get. In fact, of any ten major theatrical films produced, on average, six or seven may be broadly characterized as unprofitable and one might break even. Still, there are many reasons why such characterizations must be applied with care and why the success ratio for studio-distributors is considerably better than that for individual participants.
Be that as it may, however, moviemaking is still truly entrepreneurial: It is often a triumph of hope over reality, where defeat can easily be snatched from the jaws of victory. But its magical, mystical elements notwithstanding, it is also a business, affected like any other by basic economic principles.
Flickering images
Snuggled comfortably in the seat of your local theater or, as is increasingly likely, in front of the screen attached to your video exhibition device, you are transported far away by your imagination as you watch – a movie. Of course, not all movies have the substance and style to accomplish this incredible feat of emotional transportation, but a surprising number of them do.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Entertainment Industry EconomicsA Guide for Financial Analysis, pp. 83 - 125Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014