How To Achieve The $1 Billion Box Office Gross

Sweetie, you have no idea how tempted I am to get you banned. It's something I've done before. I can do it by pushing your buttons. You have no idea the amount of restraint I've shown in our relations thus far. I'm kinda hardcore.

Just start being nice to people, would you please? That's what this website is all about.

Cracker Funk said:

amos -- what is the goal you wish to achieve by releasing this very well-researched data? Is there a next step?

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There really was no goal, I just wrote my thoughts down and thought I'd share with my friends at IndieTalk.

Sweetie said:

The conclusion was basically, if you don't have sunny skies, if it's not pg-13 and isn't over 2 hours long, you won't hit the billion mark. That'd be great if your aim was to show how not to hit the billion mark.

Did you test your supposition?

Lets assume your lazy supposition is worth taking a few minutes to take a look and see if you've identified a pattern.

Lets look at the first movie that caught my eye. Guardians of the Galaxy. 2hr 1 min, PG-13 and sunny skies and no billion. Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, Interstellar, The Martian, Ternimator Genisys, Warcraft, Pacific Rim, Independence Day Resurgence and more all fall within these parameters and fall short of the 10 figure mark.

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Maybe people should have their IQ tested before being allowed to post comments. Sweetie, since you don't have a brain, let me try and explain to you. Meeting the 3 criteria required for a $1bn gross and not actually reaching the $1bn are not mutually exclusive events. If somebody tells you that inorder to get good grades in school you need to study hard, does that mean everybody who studies hard gets good grades? Geez. Can you think please.

amos said:

If somebody tells you that inorder to get good grades in school you need to study hard, does that mean everybody who studies hard gets good grades?

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It should do, yes. That's the only reason for somebody to say that. By studying hard, you at least increase the chances of getting good grades. But then, how do you define "studying hard" and "good grades". Surely that's subjective? Your three criteria aren't subjective... The only connection you've found between those billion dollars films is that the are 2hrs plus, PG13 and include sunny skies. Nor is the result; it's $1 billion. So, in your opinion, why don't all films that feature those elements reach $1bn?

Cracker Funk said:

Sweetie, you have no idea how tempted I am to get you banned. It's something I've done before. I can do it by pushing your buttons. You have no idea the amount of restraint I've shown in our relations thus far. I'm kinda hardcore.

Just start being nice to people, would you please? That's what this website is all about.

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Please do not threaten to get other members banned by pushing their buttons. First of all, that's trolling. And trolls are banned. So you are risking your own account.

indietalk said:

Please do not threaten to get other members banned by pushing their buttons. First of all, that's trolling. And trolls are banned. So you are risking your own account.

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That wasn't a threat, but an admission of how I feel. This back-and-forth is very frustrating for me. And for the record, when people have been banned, as a result of their interactions with me, it has never been a premeditated action on my part, just an emotional reaction.

mad_hatter said:

It should do, yes. That's the only reason for somebody to say that. By studying hard, you at least increase the chances of getting good grades. But then, how do you define "studying hard" and "good grades". Surely that's subjective? Your three criteria aren't subjective... The only connection you've found between those billion dollars films is that the are 2hrs plus, PG13 and include sunny skies. Nor is the result; it's $1 billion. So, in your opinion, why don't all films that feature those elements reach $1bn?

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That's a really good point, and in my opinion, a much better way to critique amos' work.

EDIT: I guess it was a little bit of a threat, but one made as an emotional reaction. It's happened before; let's not allow it to happen again. That's all I'm sayin'.

This back-and-forth is very frustrating for me, too. It derails good
discussion. Perhaps if you didn't call him a troll for, say, six weeks
this could be calmed down. A much better way to critique Sweetie's
critique is to challenge his method without name calling.

Honestly, I thought this back and forth bickering was an inside joke.... ;part of Crackerfunk's plan to rile up the sound guys, create fake banter with Sweetie, and rejuvinate Indietalk. I'm still not sure. If not, I hope we can all be friendly.

As for this thread, I find Amos' charts to be fairly interesting. My take from it is that hugely budgeted fantasy/action movies featuring lots of effects, stunts, and bright conclusions, often fare well. My other take is, wow, what a monster Disney has become.

What does this mean for me? Let's see, I need 200 million, CGI, pyro, and a half decent script with a happy ending. Got it!

let's not allow it to happen again

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You know you're the only one who can control your emotions and your actions right? Others cannot do it for you, nor should we.

It derails good discussion
critique is to challenge his method

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I'm frustrated too. For me lately it's all about walking on eggshells wondering what will set Cracker into "offended" mode.

Instead, I'd love to debate the ideas. Challenge the status quo. Learn more.

What does this mean for me? Let's see, I need 200 million, CGI, pyro, and a half decent script with a happy ending. Got it!

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Don't forget distribution and a marketing budget that rivals the GDP of a small country. [I don't know what the GDP of a small country is, but marketing a blockbuster costs a lot]

That's also without discussing the importance of 4 quadrant films, and how well a film travels internationally, star power and a plethora of other factors.

amos said:

Since 2010 about 4 500 major studio movies have been made. Only 19 of them grossed over $1 billion at the Box Office. That's a very small number so I decided to investigate exactly what these 19 films got right. In this article I looked at everything from the impact of MPAA rating to movie length / running time on a film's performance. You can find the full analysis on the link below:

www.chinozproductions.com

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The most important takeaway from this, from an independent filmmaker's perspective, is to always bear in mind, while looking at the ridiculous amounts of zeros rolling around, that 1B movies do not necessarily equate into "good art" by any stetch of the imagination (how ironic that I use the term imagination). Try your best to never confuse these things. If you start getting lost look to the billboard music charts or something. Popularity and sales mean a lot of things, perhaps things one is striving for, but on the pure creative and talented side of things they often do not reflect accurately.

Something Justin doesn't have to be good Bieber to be profitable.

I actually wish filmmakers would run away from following footsteps and formulas of... ugh... "success"... ugh... so we can get more virus mutation offshoots into the mix (aka Original IP). Alas, I know people get into this for differing reasons, and I suppose some of them have to eat on occasion, sadly. -- A sort of soul searching question you can ask yourself (again indie filmmaker POV) is would you be just as happy with a film of your own dreams, devices and work ethic profiting $1 as you would with rebooting adapted material, or existing franchise, without hardly a trace of your DNA on it, to profit 1M (of which you'd promptly have to "share" with the owners/creators of said borrowed IP). The answer can help you figure out a lot about yourself and the direction you want to go. Where your passions lay.

Also -- everyone is aware of http://www.boxofficemojo.com/ correct? None of these numbers are hidden and you definitely do not have to wait for something as archaic as a printed book to be published to get up to date data. Plus you are clicks away from features like viewing tickets sold instead of $ales and adjusting for inflation. Very easy to put your own report together and draw your own conclusions.

My issue is with your title: you show statistics about what these 19
films have in common. But you don't show us "how" they made that
money. Do a graph of movies made since 2010 that are rated PG and
PG-13, less than 2 hours, are "sunny with lots of daylight" and released
in the Holiday or Summer season that DIDN'T reach 1 billion.

I suspect you will find that MOST movies that meet this criteria do NOT
reach this success. So that might mean that those elements do NOT
work most of the time. Perhaps there is something else?