The impact of film reviews on the box office performance of art house versus mainstream motion pictures

Critics and their reviews can play an important role in consumer decision making in general, and film choice in particular. In this study, we propose that consumers of art house movies are being led by film reviews when making a film choice (influence effect), whereas consumers of mainstream movies are hypothesized to rely mainly on other sources of information. Thus, in the latter case the review does not influence the moviegoer, but may still be a reflection of the ultimate success of the movie (predictor effect). Using the Dutch film industry as our empirical setting, we study the effects of reviews on the opening weekend and on the cumulative box office revenue. Our research shows that the number and size of film reviews in Dutch newspapers directly influence the behavior of the art-movie-going public in their film choice. The number and size of film reviews of mainstream movies, on the other hand, only predict movie performance.

Evidence on the Performance of Canada/Europe Co-productions in Television and Film

International co-production has become an increasingly important mode for television programs and film. In this paper we report the results of a survey on partner perceptions of performance in Canada/Europe co-productions. In particular we examine whether expectations that the general experience is positive and that Canadian and European partners have similar assessments of the level of performance, are justified. Our survey evidence does support the hypothesis that in total the experience is positive. However, it appears this is only the case because a good creative artistic performance more than outweighs a less than satisfactory total project recoupment. The hypothesis that Canadian and European partners have similar perceptions of performance is not borne out. Generally, Canadian partners seem more satisfied than European, particularly French.     

DVD sales and the R-rating puzzle

In the last decade, attendance at movie theaters has been relatively stagnant, while sales of digital versatile discs (DVDs) have grown dramatically. In this paper, we look at the factors determining sales of individual DVDs in the United States. Using data on new motion pictures released on DVD between 2006 and 2008, we find the demand for new DVDs is price-inelastic and that DVD sales are counter-cyclical. We find that previous box office success has strong positive effects on DVD sales. Production budget also has a positive effect on DVD sales, albeit indirectly through its effect on box office revenues. Critical acclaim has significant positive effects on both box office revenue and DVD sales, but the effect is smaller in regard to DVDs. There is some evidence to suggest that DVD sales are higher for movies with more sexual content and more violent content and lower for movies with more profanity, but these effects are indirect through the changes in the box office of these movies. We find that sales of R-rated DVDs are not as dependent upon critical acclaim as movies of other ratings, and are thus less risky for movie studios to produce. Our findings provide another explanation for the R-rating puzzle.     

American beauty: trade flows and export costs of US movies

This paper estimates a hedonic model of revenues for 1431 American movies in 45 non-American countries over the period 2002–2013. Such an extensive analysis is proven to be useful to estimate the effect of indicators of geographical and cultural distance on total revenue and the number of American films exported to non-American countries once the model specification also controls for relevant film features. It is found that indicators of cultural and geographical distance, in addition to the Human Development Index, have a significant effect on both the number of American films shown and the revenue obtained. Estimation results have been also used to appraise the importance of film features in different groups of countries from the perspective of their degree of development and distance from the USA.     

How do theatrical box office revenues affect DVD retail sales? Australian empirical evidence

This study considers the Australian DVD industry using a data set of retail sales for over 44,800 titles 1997–2007. A sub-sample of 760 titles which also received an initial theatrical release reveals that the DVD revenue distribution has thicker tails than the theatrical revenue distribution implying the top-ranked DVDs earning a greater share of revenues than their theatrical contemporaries. A comparison of revenues finds not only a high degree of correlation between the two markets, but a relationship that is nonlinear and increasing at higher theatrical revenue levels. This finding is consistent with a word-of-mouth momentum effect and more institutional flexibility in the DVD market. The high levels of correlation are present across all genres/ratings and are observed to be stronger for large release titles. Finally, a seemingly unrelated regression structure is proposed to jointly consider the two markets, which is shown to be empirically valid.     

Stardom and the Profitability of Film Making: Warner Bros. in the 1930s

This paper examines the film production performance of Warner Bros. during the 1930s, placing particular emphasis on the manner in which Warners invested in stars. Warners are shown to have acted rationally in the sense of having consistently invested in previously successful actors. An assessment is then made of how successful such a strategy proved to be. Drawing a distinction between high and medium/low budget production, the deployment of established stars in high budget productions did not appear to have constituted a successful strategy. The production of medium/low budget films, by contrast, provided a more stable environment, in which there were clear returns to the deployment of previously successful actors.     

Revealed word-of-mouth demand and adaptive supply: survival of motion pictures at the Australian box office

This study considers a frailty duration approach to modelling the life-length of a sample of 360 films that went into wide release at the Australian box office from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2005. The analysis extends previous research by considering a range of film-specific covariates relating to distribution, production, consumer signals, and weekly performance. In particular, it is shown that film success (defined in a duration context) responds to previewing, advertising, critical reviews, and US box office—but not to production budget, star power or opening-week screens. The study also reveals that it is appropriate to account for unobservable heterogeneity between films in the choice of empirical methodology.     

Critic power or star power? The influence of hallmarks of quality of motion pictures: an experimental approach

Most research into the film industry focuses on aggregate level market analysis of a range of devices used by the industry to ensure the success of its films. In contrast, in this paper, we experimentally test how individual cinema-goers are influenced by two variables that have aroused considerable interest in the literature: critical reviews and the role of box office stars. As regards the former, the results of our experiment indicate that negative reviews by film critics are cues that affect cinema-goers’ pre-film assessment of a film yet fail to exert any effect on post-film assessment. As regards the latter, a cast of box office stars is not seen to be an indication of quality per se for our experimental subjects. Nor do box office stars help to mitigate the potential effects of negative reviews.     

Blockbusters and market expansion: evidence from the motion picture industry

Like other cultural industries, the theatrical film industry is subject to the ‘blockbuster effect’, where popular products often dominate their competition by orders of magnitude over relatively short-run time horizons. This paper investigates this particular feature of the industry and the implication for overall market size. Using simple regression analysis, a positive relationship between (product-level) market concentration and market size is established using weekly box office revenue data from the US motion picture industry. This empirical evidence supports a simple theoretical model of heterogeneous consumers who selectively participate in the market.     

A critical analysis of the Nollywood film Osuofia in London

This article analyzes Nigeria’s Nollywood film Osuofia in London [Ogoro, K. (Producer & Director). (2003/2004). Kingsley Ogoro Productions] to understand how the film synthesizes African and Western cultural identities via the prisms of hybridity and postcolonial theory. The paper uses a critical approach within the contexts of three tenets (African, Western, and hybrid) to read the film. The analysis resulted in five themes: African/folk belief systems and Christianity; traditional Igbo attire and English garb; African/folk music and Western music; African and Western food and drinks; and African/traditional medicine and modern medicine. The analysis indicates that unequal power relations and the forces of globalization are inescapable. Even though the protagonist, Osuofia, challenges the Western ideology, he reproduces it as well.     

Analyzing repeat consumption of identical cultural goods: some exploratory evidence from moviegoing

This study offers a preliminary exploration of repeat consumption of identical cultural goods, specifically moviegoing. The term ‘identical’ in this study refers to cases where, for example, individuals view the same film at a movie theater, in a short time interval, on more than one occasion i.e. experiencing the cultural good in precisely the same format. It is not meant to embrace the case of individuals who, for example, view a particular film at a movie theater and then see it some time later in another format, such as via a DVD player. The repeat viewing phenomenon is discussed and then considered empirically. Films aimed predominantly at children attract the highest number of repeat views, while those aimed at an older audience attract significantly fewer repeat views. The profile of repeat viewers of the 10 films which attracted the greatest number of repeat viewers was subject to more detailed scrutiny. In general, repeat viewers tend to be younger but the gender balance differs markedly according to film content. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 3rd European Workshop on Applied Cultural Economics, University of Oviedo in Aviles, Spain 14–16 June 2007 and the 9th International Conference on Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC), Fundación Universidad Empresa (ADEIT), Valencia, Spain 8–11 July 2007. We are grateful for comments received and the usual caveat applies.     

Diversity in teams and the success of cultural products

This study investigates what is necessary to create successful intercultural motion pictures. We test hypotheses on the effects of (1) the production team and the cast composition (team members’ cultural backgrounds, industry tenure, social networks, education, star status, age, and gender) and (2) film characteristics (set locations, movie genre) on the overall performance of German movies at home and abroad. The empirical results demonstrate that offering cultural familiarity (teams from a diverse cultural background, international settings) provides a sense of familiarity to audiences outside the domestic market and enhances the performance of the film abroad. Yet, domestic success depends on different factors. These issues are underexplored because producers can rarely build on systematic research when attempting to customize films to different cultural settings. The paper shows how to target international audiences more effectively.     

“艺术红星”熠熠闪光

红星剧院在文化体制改革中脱颖而出,被誉为“艺术红星”。在市场动作中频频出牌,创立了杭城演艺经营的新样板;作为一个剧院,他们转换“角色”,积极探索“请进来”和“走出去”,开创国际文化流新格局。     

Black Swan,Cracked Porcelain and Becoming-Animal

The film Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky, provides a fruitful context for thinking about Deleuze's conceptualisation of structural transformation as a ‘presubjective’ process involving a critical and creative politics of engagement. Nina is a young dancer who has just secured the lead role in the New York Ballet's new production of Swan Lake. This role not only requires her to dance the pure and innocent character of the White Swan – a role that mirrors Nina's character in real life, and for which she is well suited – but also as the seductive and darkly erotic character of the Black Swan, a role quite alien to Nina. The film traces Nina's desperate efforts to meet the demands of this doubled characterisation. Through new forms of engagement with her peers, she enters into a ‘becoming-swan’ that frees her from the restraints and constraints imposed by her existing self. While this transformative process enables her to realise aesthetic perfection in her art, this comes at a heavy price: Nina not only is creatively destabilised, but ultimately is destroyed by the transformation she endures. By considering this work of cinema in light of Deleuze's writings on cinema, on ‘becoming-animal’, and on ‘Porcelain and Volcano’, this essay reflects upon a crucial question underlying much of Deleuze's political thought: how is it possible to privilege radical subjective and social transformation, without these structures of necessary coherence also ‘cracking up’ and being destroyed in the process?     

The ‘diaspora advantage’ of Pauline Chan (1956–): from multicultural filmmaker to cultural broker

ABSTRACT

This is the first academic paper to critically introduce and document the 30-year screen career of Pauline Chan, Australia’s highest profile Chinese film director, television actress and media producer. Sydney-based, Vietnam-born, Hong Kong-educated and US-trained, Chan has directed six films, starred in 14 and produced four television series and films. Despite her prolific career, there has been no sustained research on her profile and repertoire. This paper evaluates the evolution of Chan’s career using the diaspora ‘advantage’ as a new approach. Characterised by mobility rather than culturalism, the term refers to the benefits brought by and skills of diaspora groups that have allowed them to flourish as transnational actors able to leverage resources in both their countries of origin and settlement. It begins by elaborating how Chan’s diaspora advantage has allowed her to challenge welfare multiculturalism and extend aesthetic multiculturalism. It further documents her transition from a multicultural filmmaker to a cultural intermediary by leveraging her diasporic advantage across the film sectors in China and Australia, and opening up new industrial routes outside of the confines of policy. Using interdisciplinary methods to screen biography that include interviews with the filmmaker, film archival research, critical cultural policy studies, and studies in Asian Australian cinema and political economy, this paper argues that the new approach of the diaspora advantage turns the deficit associated with the diaspora into a dividend that has the potential to rethink the imaginary between Asia and Australia.     

Uncertainty in the Movie Industry: Does Star Power Reduce the Terror of the Box Office?

Everyone knows that the movie business is risky. But how risky is it? Do strategies exist that reduce risk? We investigate these questions using a sample of over 2000 motion pictures. We discover that box-office revenues are asymptotically Pareto-distributed and have infinite variance. The mean is dominated by rare blockbuster movies that are located in the far right tail. There is no typical movie because box-office revenue outcomes do not converge to an average: revenues diverge over all scales. The studio model of risk management lacks a foundation in theory or evidence, and revenue forecasts have zero precision. Movies are complex products and the cascade of information among film-goers during the course of a film's run can evolve along so many paths that it is impossible to attribute the success of a movie to individual causal factors. The audience makes a movie a hit and no amount of “star power” or marketing can alter that. The real star is the movie.     

Are Small Recipients Overlooked by Sponsors? An Empirical Note

This note presents an analysis of data collected on the revenue structure of cultural institutions in Berlin and Hamburg, with a focus on sponsoring. Ex ante there are some reasons why firms, when giving to the arts, might favour large recipients, but also some why they could favour smaller ones. For our sample we find that income from sponsoring per visitor is larger for smaller cultural institutions. Finally, we argue that these results can be considered as evidence for a at least partly altruistic motivation of sponsors.     

Australian films at the Australian box office: performance, distribution, and subsidies

In recent years, Australian films have failed to capture the public’s attention at the Australian box office. Why? Do Australians have an aversion to their own films? Or does the release strategy—advertising/publicity expenditure and opening number of screens—explain the lacklustre performance? We find that even though Australian films are generally advertised more heavily and released more widely than non-Australian films, ceteris paribus, they earn less at the box office. We also analyse a subsample of our data for which Film Finance Corporation funding information is available and find that government subsidies have no impact on a film’s financial success at the box office.     

The effects of having more than one good reputation on distributor investments in the film industry

Reputations of organizations and its individual members are valuable resources that help new organizations to get access to investment capital. Reputations, however, can have different dimensions. In this paper, we argue that an individual??s reputation along a particular dimension will have a positive effect on the behavior of investors when it is role congruent. In addition, we argue that also scoring favorably on the role-incongruent dimension at the same time??or, in other words, engaging in reputational category spanning??will weaken the positive effect of the role-congruent reputation. Our empirical setting is the film industry where we study the effect of the two main dimensions of reputation in cultural industries, artistic and commercial, of both directors and producers on the size of the investment by distributors. In this study, artistic reputation is based on professional critics?? reviews and commercial reputation on box office performance of the films in which individuals were involved in the past. We find that the commercial reputation of a film producer based on past box office performance has a positive effect on the size of the investment by film distributors. In addition, we find that directors who at the same time combine both a favorable commercial as well as an artistic reputation actually receive a lower investment from film distributors.