Despite the development of network and cable television, video-
The growing global market for Hollywood films has helped cushion the industry as the home video market undergoes a significant transformation, with the demise of the video rental business and the rise of video streaming. In order to flourish, the movie industry has had to continually revamp its production, distribution, and exhibition system and consolidate its ownership.
Production, Distribution, and Exhibition Today
In the 1970s, attendance by young moviegoers at new suburban multiplex theaters made megahits of The Godfather (1972), The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), Rocky (1976), and Star Wars (1977). During this period, Jaws and Star Wars became the first movies to gross more than $100 million at the U.S. box office in a single year. In trying to copy the success of these blockbuster hits, the major studios set in place economic strategies for future decades. (See “Media Literacy and the Critical Process: The Blockbuster Mentality” on page 259.)
Making Money on Movies Today
With 80 to 90 percent of newly released movies failing to make money at the domestic box office, studios need a couple of major hits each year to offset losses on other films. (See Table 7.2 on page 256 for a list of the highest-
Rank | Title/Date | Domestic Gross ** ($ millions) |
1 | Avatar (2009) | 760.5 |
2 |
Titanic (1997, 2012 3- |
658.6 |
3 | The Avengers (2012) | 623.4 |
4 | The Dark Knight (2008) | 533 |
5 |
Star Wars:Episode I—The Phantom Menace (1999, 2012 3- |
474.5 |
6 | Star Wars (1977, 1997) | 461 |
7 | The Dark Knight Rises (2012) | 447.8 |
8 | Shrek2 (2004) | 437.7 |
9 |
E.T.: The Extra- |
435 |
10 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) | 424.7 |
With climbing film costs, creating revenue from a movie is a formidable task. Studios make money on movies from six major sources:
Generally, discount rental kiosk companies like Redbox must wait twenty-
Theater Chains Consolidate Exhibition
Film exhibition is controlled by a handful of theater chains; the leading five companies operate more than 50 percent of U.S. screens. Each of the major chains—
The strategy of the leading theater chains during the mid-
Still, theater chains sought to be less reliant on Hollywood studios, and with new digital projectors they began to screen nonmovie events, including live sporting events, rock concerts, and classic TV show marathons. One of the most successful theater events is the live HD simulcast of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s performances, which began in 2007 and during the 2014–
The Major Studio Players
The current Hollywood commercial film business is ruled primarily by six companies: Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Columbia Pictures, and Disney—
In the 1980s, to offset losses resulting from box-
The biggest corporate mergers have involved the internationalization of the American film business. Investment in American popular culture by the international electronics industry is particularly significant. This business strategy represents a new, high-
The Blockbuster Mentality
In the beginning of this chapter, we noted Hollywood’s shift toward a blockbuster mentality after the success of films like Star Wars. How pervasive is this blockbuster mentality, which targets an audience of young adults, releases action-
1 DESCRIPTION. Consider a list of the all-
2 ANALYSIS. Note patterns in the list. For example, of the thirty top-
3 INTERPRETATION. What do the patterns mean? It’s clear, economically, why Hollywood likes to have successful blockbuster movie franchises. But what kinds of films get left out of the mix? Hits like Forrest Gump (now bumped out of the Top 30), which may have had big-
4 EVALUATION. It is likely that we will continue to see an increase in youth-
5 ENGAGEMENT. Watch independent and foreign films and see what you’re missing. Visit foreignfilms.com or the Sundance Film Festival site and browse through the many films listed. Find these films on Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, or iTunes (and if the films are unavailable, let these services know). Write your cable company and request to have the Sundance Channel on your cable lineup. Organize an independent film night on your college campus and bring these films to a crowd.
Convergence: Movies Adjust to the Digital Turn
The biggest challenge the movie industry faces today is the Internet. As broadband Internet service connects more households, movie fans are increasingly getting movies from the Web. After witnessing the difficulties that illegal file-
The popularity of Netflix’s streaming service opened the door to other similar services. Hulu, a joint venture by NBC Universal (Universal Studios), Twentieth Century Fox, and Disney, was created as the studios’ attempt to divert attention from YouTube and get viewers to either watch free, ad-
Movies are also increasingly available to stream or download on mobile phones and tablets. Several companies, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google, Apple, Redbox, and Blockbuster, have developed distribution to mobile devices. Small screens don’t offer an optimal viewing experience, but if customers watch movies on their mobile devices, they will likely use the same company’s service to continue viewing on the larger screens of computers and televisions.
The year 2012 marked a turning point: For the first time, movie fans accessed more movies through digital online media than physical copies, like DVD and Blu-
The digital turn creates two long-
The Internet has also become an essential tool for movie marketing, and one that studios are finding less expensive than traditional methods, like television ads or billboards. Films regularly have Web pages, but many studios now also use a full menu of social media to promote films in advance of their release. For example, the marketing plan for Lionsgate’s 2012 movie The Hunger Games, which launched an enormously successful movie franchise, employed “near-
Alternative Voices
With the major studios exerting such a profound influence on the worldwide production, distribution, and exhibition of movies, new alternatives have helped open and redefine the movie industry. The digital revolution in movie production is the most recent opportunity to wrest some power away from the Hollywood studios. Substantially cheaper and more accessible than standard film equipment, digital video is a shift from celluloid film; it allows filmmakers to replace expensive and bulky 16-
British director Mike Figgis achieved the milestone of producing the first fully digital release from a major studio with his film Timecode (2000). Though digital video has become commonplace on big studio productions, the greatest impact of digital technology has been on independent filmmakers. Low-
Because digital production puts movies in the same format as the Internet, independent filmmakers have new distribution venues beyond film festivals or the major studios. For example, Vimeo, YouTube, and Netflix have grown into leading Internet sites for the screening and distribution of short films and film festivals, providing filmmakers with their most valuable asset—