Why blockbusters survived the web age

Despite endess choice, the books, films and music industries can't escape domination by a handful of monster hitsA monster lays waste to America's cities, smashing skyscrapers and tearing up passenger trains. It's the familiar tale of Godzilla, a mutant lizard last seen rampaging through cinemas in 1998 and now back on the big screen. Godzilla, made for an estimated $160m and opening this weekend, marks the start of the Hollywood blockbuster season another entertainment beast that never dies.Summer blockbusters may be as a predictable as bank holiday traffic jams, but a recent book from a Harvard Business School professor throws light on why the format endures from books to film, TV and music. In Blockbusters, Anita Elberse shows that big-budget films matter more than ever to Hollywood studios. In 2010, about 70% of Warner Brothers's revenues came from its four most expensive films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (budget $250m), Inception ($175m), Clash of the Titans ($125m) and Sex and the City ($100m) while the four with the smallest budgets contributed next to nothing. "The entertainment industry is moving more towards a winner-take-all-market," she writes. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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