1. Movies 2. Econ 3. ??? 4. Profit
Movies since their inception have been a massively popular and lucrative pastime in both
America and in the rest of the world. Over time however, the market has consistently shifted. While there seems to be more diversity than ever, the movie industry has actually changed to become more polarized.
More and more, the larger film industries are shifting to creating huge budget blockbusters. More than just large budget movies is the movement towards continuing franchises, reboots, and sequels. This makes sense from an economic stand point for multiple reasons. Bigger budget films tend to be more stable. Additionally, reboots and sequels are safer bets because companies know that the previous films did well. This means that a large audience is almost guaranteed to go back. Big Budget films also generate much of their profit from merchandise, such as toys, clothing, and cups.
While traditional movie producing companies have started to move away from anything other than large budget films, in recent years mid budget films have started to make a resurgence. This is due to the movements of streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix that make their own movies. Although these movies are generally not as profitable, streaming services tend to care less because they value exposure of their service and new customers over individual hit movies.
Small budget and indie films have always owned a smaller market share, but they have started to become more popular as well due to the growth of the internet. As movies are filmed, the internet provides a lot of free exposure and advertisement, which previously would take up much of a film's budget. Additionally, camera equipment has gotten cheaper, making it easier for small films to create better quality footage.
Mainstream movies used to be almost exclusively Hollywood produced, but over time has spread to all around the world. China has become a major blockbuster producer, as well as financing many of the movies that come out of Hollywood. Additionally, the Chinese consumer base, which was already large, is only getting larger.
America and in the rest of the world. Over time however, the market has consistently shifted. While there seems to be more diversity than ever, the movie industry has actually changed to become more polarized.
More and more, the larger film industries are shifting to creating huge budget blockbusters. More than just large budget movies is the movement towards continuing franchises, reboots, and sequels. This makes sense from an economic stand point for multiple reasons. Bigger budget films tend to be more stable. Additionally, reboots and sequels are safer bets because companies know that the previous films did well. This means that a large audience is almost guaranteed to go back. Big Budget films also generate much of their profit from merchandise, such as toys, clothing, and cups.
While traditional movie producing companies have started to move away from anything other than large budget films, in recent years mid budget films have started to make a resurgence. This is due to the movements of streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix that make their own movies. Although these movies are generally not as profitable, streaming services tend to care less because they value exposure of their service and new customers over individual hit movies.
Small budget and indie films have always owned a smaller market share, but they have started to become more popular as well due to the growth of the internet. As movies are filmed, the internet provides a lot of free exposure and advertisement, which previously would take up much of a film's budget. Additionally, camera equipment has gotten cheaper, making it easier for small films to create better quality footage.
Mainstream movies used to be almost exclusively Hollywood produced, but over time has spread to all around the world. China has become a major blockbuster producer, as well as financing many of the movies that come out of Hollywood. Additionally, the Chinese consumer base, which was already large, is only getting larger.
This is a great point! I've also noticed that movies have recently become more and more larger scale. I've also noticed a significant lack of "feel-good" movies that are often made by Disney like Toy Story, etc. — I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteThese massive movies that have a gigantic budget quite frankly drown out the rest of the movies, so we're starting to see less and less of these. Eventually, we'll run out of movies to remake and we'll go back to our old ways. But for now, this seems to be the new era of the movie industry.
Great post. Big movie industries like Star Wars and Avengers consistently find additional ways to make more money to your point such as merchandise. Sequels are good ways to make money but for me, every additional movie to a sequel almost feels forced and at times doesn't make sense. Once one can understand it's really about the money, it'll make sense to why an industry keeps adding movies.
ReplyDelete