Prediction and Box Office Success “Forget zombies. The data crunchers are invading Hollywood.” So begins a New York Times article about Vinny Bruzzese, a former statistics professor turned script advisor. Bruzzese uses data about the elements of previous films to determine what predicts success at the box office. He applies these findings to new scripts. The maker’s of Oz the Great and Powerful took Bruzzese’s advice, and the film made hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other hand, the makers of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter solicited Bruzzese’s advice, but ignored it. It didn’t even earn a quarter of what Oz pulled in.
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