Showing posts with label Donnelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donnelly. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Warner Bros & The Profit Margin
(upload.wikimedia.org)
One must understand that Warner Bros. is a company and will always seek out profit. It isn't always pretty but corporate is completely necessary and important in film and the arts in general. In order to profit and thus continue producing films, Warner Bros. must weigh their allowed budget and the expected profit.
IMDB, a reputable source for information spanning from movies to actors, provided information on the recent box office hit, Suicide Squad. According to the details of this movie on the website, Suicide Squad had an estimated budget of $175m. The movie has currently grossed to an impressive $324m. The production company obviously played its cards right and had a sizable profit margin for this movie. This isn't just a stroke of luck, though. Warner Bros. knows exactly where to put their money to make the most profit.
The difference between the amount spent on the film and the profit proves that the system currently in place is profitable. The current model seems to be leaning towards producing sequels or really anything other than something new. Though many complain about this current trend, it is the consumers who really decide what movies are made as wherever the dollar is spent, that decides the types of movies made.
Another instance of this model working is with the Dark Night series. The Dark Night Rises has a budget of around 230 million according to Wikipedia and sold just over a billion in the box office. So while original movies and stories are fresh, exciting and fun to watch when they're done well, the safe route for WB lies in making sequals and such. This isn't to say that these movies aren't good,, though. The reason for such a large profit margin is often because these movies are good. It isn't all bad but in the world of business one must have a cynical eye.
The difference between the amount spent on the film and the profit proves that the system currently in place is profitable. The current model seems to be leaning towards producing sequels or really anything other than something new. Though many complain about this current trend, it is the consumers who really decide what movies are made as wherever the dollar is spent, that decides the types of movies made.
Another instance of this model working is with the Dark Night series. The Dark Night Rises has a budget of around 230 million according to Wikipedia and sold just over a billion in the box office. So while original movies and stories are fresh, exciting and fun to watch when they're done well, the safe route for WB lies in making sequals and such. This isn't to say that these movies aren't good,, though. The reason for such a large profit margin is often because these movies are good. It isn't all bad but in the world of business one must have a cynical eye.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Warner Bros & Cashing In
(http://static.playbill.com/)
As to be expected, the corperate giant Warner Bros. Entertainment is cashing in on the heartbreaking loss of beloved actor Gene Wilder. Wilder's most notable film was Willy Wonka which scored four million in the box office and captured the hearts of many, now regarded as a classic. Subsequently after Wilder died (Aug 29, 2016) Warner Bros. made the executive decision to start work on a prequel.
This is to be expected as Warner Bros knows well that this next movie will sell tremendously, thanks to the unfortunate loss. Fans are furious as stated in an article by SMH, "On Twitter, one film editor called it an "insult to Gene Wilder's legacy" while others suggested it would "sully" his character." Another fan writes, "How do you dishonour the memory of Gene Wilder? Announce a remake that nobody has asked for or wanted. Well done Warner Bros. You idiots."
Ironically, though this move does not make Warner Bros idiots, it actually makes them an economically smart corporation. A respectable move? No, but this kind of stuff happens all of the time, and with business and profit in mind this makes Warner Bros. smart.
This also begs the question as to why Warner Bros would do something so insensitive? This is obviously a cash grab so what gives? Well, as cynical as all of this is, you can't expect anything better from a company. Sure, the movies bring you tears and full your heart but that isn't by the hand of the production company, the only interest in the company is the money. The emotional pull is left to the creatives down on set. It's all structured and thought out and as many complain about the lack of new content and overabundance of prequels or sequels, this won't change unless the consumers do. Warner Bros. is concerned about the profit and if profit has been seen to lie in prequels and sequels then that will be the types of movies made, especially since less and less are going to theaters. Additionally, the decision to make this film is a trade-off; Warner Bros. now cannot make a new, original film as many have been crying for.
Friday, October 14, 2016
What Films Warner Bros Chooses To Make
(static.srcdn.com)
How does Warner Bros know which films to choose to produce? Why and how does Warner Bros chose the films they do be it a sequel, book adaptation, or something completely new?
Warner Bros is a company and will almost always go for the cash-in route. If they play it safe and create a spectacle they’re almost guaranteed a success. They will chose what already works, for instance, the Batman trilogy. Christopher Nolan was their go-to director until recently with the new Batman V Superman. Nolan worked and generated them money which is why they stuck with him. An article by The Collider states, “....even as The Dark Knight was hailed as one of the best superhero movies ever made and climbed the box office charts, Warner Bros. still wasn’t coming out and announcing a release date for Batman 3 the Monday after opening weekend. They allowed Nolan to go off and recharge his batteries on an original project, a little movie called Inception that scored $825 million at the box office—for Warner Bros., no less.”
This recent article by Chitwod of The Collider explains the sequential order of Warner Bros’s films and their either success or failure. His knowledge in this area is clearly identifiable. He goes on the explain how Batman’s new director Zac Snyder let down their most recent flick “Batman V Superman”. To reinforce the idea that Warner Bros will still gravitate towards what works, the film was even still produced by Christopher Nolan. So, even when trying someone or something new, they will still follow what has shown success and profit in the past, which is a large part of the process in how they chose what films to produce.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Warner Bros
BLOG POST #2
Before this company pours a load of money into a production, a budget must be finalized and Warner Bros does this exceptionally well. With information from Wikipedia on "Film Budgeting", any well put together budget must be divided according to the importance of each part, in this case it would be actors, settings, post work, etc. Also, Warner Bros must use gross budget as opposed to net budget since they cannot spend money that they do not have. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_budgeting)
When budgeting for a large scale film production, the production company, in this case Warner Bros, must consider the following and more: story rights, screenplay, producers, cast, directors, music and post production. A gross budget is the realistic budget in which a production company must work off of. This kind of budget is defined as, “the grand total of actual spending to produce the project and not to be confused with net budget, which represents the final out of pocket for the producer after government incentives or rebates”. Net budget in this case would be the profits after the film which can very greatly.
Warner Bros must also consider many more things when budgeting for films aside from just the money in the film. The company must first chose which film to produce. This decision is the first and most important because the time and money spent on these films cannot be wasted as Warner Bros would lose a lot of money. A film like "Suicide Squad" took many years to make but made seven times as much money as was budgeted in which means that Warner Bros did their job right. But that then begs the question; how does Warner know which films to produce?
Before this company pours a load of money into a production, a budget must be finalized and Warner Bros does this exceptionally well. With information from Wikipedia on "Film Budgeting", any well put together budget must be divided according to the importance of each part, in this case it would be actors, settings, post work, etc. Also, Warner Bros must use gross budget as opposed to net budget since they cannot spend money that they do not have. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_budgeting)
How does Warner Bros pull this money game off?
http://static.srcdn.com/
Every year Warner Brothers entertainment makes a couple of million dollar decisions. Through the vast expanse of Wikipedia articles, I found one that explained the costs that goes into budgeting for a large scale film production, like those in which you would associate with Warner Bros. The article explained the numerous costs in detail and gave specific examples of movies and their budget costs. Using Wikipedia is resourceful and reliable considering that many educated individuals can share their knowledge collectively, in one place. When Warner Bros budgets they must consider the basic following: Rights, equipment, places, talents, crew and pre and post production. All of these aspects accounted for allows for a successful production.
When budgeting for a large scale film production, the production company, in this case Warner Bros, must consider the following and more: story rights, screenplay, producers, cast, directors, music and post production. A gross budget is the realistic budget in which a production company must work off of. This kind of budget is defined as, “the grand total of actual spending to produce the project and not to be confused with net budget, which represents the final out of pocket for the producer after government incentives or rebates”. Net budget in this case would be the profits after the film which can very greatly.
Warner Bros must also consider many more things when budgeting for films aside from just the money in the film. The company must first chose which film to produce. This decision is the first and most important because the time and money spent on these films cannot be wasted as Warner Bros would lose a lot of money. A film like "Suicide Squad" took many years to make but made seven times as much money as was budgeted in which means that Warner Bros did their job right. But that then begs the question; how does Warner know which films to produce?
Friday, September 16, 2016
Warner Bros.
warnerbros.com
- RESEARCH TOPIC/TITLE: Opportunity costs for Warner Brothers Entertainment (Production Company)
- OVERALL RESEARCH QUESTION THAT CONNECTS MY TOPIC TO THE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE: What are opportunity costs for Warner Bros Entertainment's movies? How do they choose which movie to make?
- 3-4 SUB QUESTIONS/TOPICS THAT HELP ADDRESS THE OVERALL RESEARCH QUESTION and EMBEDDED LINKS TO RELIABLE SOURCES THAT HELP ANSWER THE QUESTION
- How does Warner Bros budget?
Script re-writes, like cutting out night scenes or using less commercial areas
- What kind of budgets does warner bros have work with?
The Man From Uncle had a budget of $75 million
- How does Warner Bros work with time?
It took 7 years to make Suicide Squad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Squad_(film)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)