Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Nov 08, 2017, 08:47:02 AM
That isn't a flop, though. It's as simple as - it's a flop if it didn't earn money. Fox has said that Covenant is an earner for them. It didn't do as well as they'd hoped but it still isn't a flop, not in the slightest. And I think you're flogging a dead-horse with trying to convince people it was.
But I never argued that it is a flop. What I said is that the argument that a movie isn't a flop simply because it made money doesn't make sense: if a movie made only a dollar in profits then it earned money. But how many investors who invest, say, $50 million, will be happy to get a return on investment worth 50 cents?
What this means, then, is that A:C didn't simply earn money but made a enough to cover investors' and the studio's expected margin. I mentioned 7 percent because that is probably good enough compared to what one can make conservatively through other investments.
The other possibility is that the movie made well below what the studio and investors wanted, but ideas for the sequel might make them believe that they can make up for the poor performance of the current film.
Thus, as much as you want to believe that this issue is simple, it's likely not.
Quote from: SM on Nov 08, 2017, 09:11:04 AM
Alright then, you didn't know.
And have been arguing a definition only you adhere to.
I believe that Fox decided to produce A:C with an expected profit margin in mind, and went through the creative and marketing process to achieve that goal. I say that because that's how businesses work, especially for-profit businesses who have investors who want the best deal. They don't work in your imaginary way, where studio execs pitch a movie idea to investors, arguing that it will simply make money, and when told how much, will answer "whatever."
Quote from: Scorpio on Nov 08, 2017, 07:17:13 AM
Only greedy executives would consider it a flop.
97 mil budget - ~20 mil in grants from Aust. govt.
240 mil box office ww
top of blu-ray/dvd charts
merchandising profits
etc
Big success.
Not just greedy executives but greedy investors who expect the best return on their investment. If you were encouraged to invest $50 million in a movie because you were told that you'd get a return that's higher than what you'd get if you had just put it in low interest-bearing instruments in a bank, and ended up getting a few dollars (it still made money, right?), would you consider that movie a success?
Also, for the figures that you shared, don't forget to add the marketing cost to the budget (in some cases, the same amount as production cost), remove 30 to 50 percent from the box office (the theater owners' cut) plus others, and subtract taxes.
Try this article for guidance:
https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-is-distributed/