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Usually, my email is over-flowing with news of box office records no matter how obscure. But the compliant Hollywood news outlets are hardly publicizing the latest big bold movie precedent set this month. MediaByNumbers.com was first to spread the news Sunday: from January 1, 209 to February 1st, 2009, year-to-date North American grosses were $1.028 billion, compared to 2008′s January take of $867.2 million. And let’s not forget that every week this January the studios boasted to me how cheaply they made and marketed all these films that did so well. So revenue was up 18.57%. Attendance was up 16.78%. (Of course, none of these stats mean much because they’re not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices. But that never stops anyone from celebrating these kinds of announcements. And they’re a reason why Disney’s Bob Iger and News Corp’s Peter Chernin get paid annually in the $30M range.) Yet there’s no lead story about this $1B gross benchmark in either Variety or The Hollywood Reporter. At the same time, NBC set a record and sold out its Super Bowl ads for $201 million. But that isn’t prominent in the trades either. Here’s what I think: the studios and networks want this good news played on the downlow in Hollywood (as opposed to the layoffs bulletins) when the AMPTP is restarting contract talks with SAG’s “task force” — aka the newly configured negotiating committee — on Tuesday. Because isn’t it amazing how Big Media can keep making so much money but never filter it down to either their staff or the showbiz guilds?
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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If Kingdom Hollywood earned $1 billion why does it need a federal bailout?
Terrible headline, NF. Who cares about SAG? It’s tough to argue that even SAG cares about SAG, given the melee that we’ve seen in the past twelve months.
Instead, what about the massive layoffs from the studios? Call me a cynic, but I find it tough to believe that this system, with it’s bottomless love of creative accounting, will ever open the coffers to the talent unless they lose all deniability of floundering. Throwing any of this money at SAG would be the equivalent of the Wall Street bailout. Instead of trying to rethink the wheel, we should hope that the money goes to drive the system we all historically rely on to make ends meet.
That said, eager to see any any any progress in the coming SAG-AMPTP talks. And maybe, we’ll be able to reinvigorate California production and maybe chip away at the state’s massive debt through merely doing our jobs. Sustained profitability? Keeping jobs in CA? The pride of a job well done? Jesus, I sound like an idealist.
DUH.
“Let’s just keep saying the economy is in the toilet and the actors are being greedy and unreasonable. It’s working. They’re cowed.” said Iger.
“Good idea” said Rothman “Let’s point out how everyone else will suffer from their narcissitic selfishness. Let’s get a spokesman. Someone other than Hanks or Clooney.”
“How’ bout Damon?” chorteled Moonvess. he’s got that abused-boy-impoverished- genuis thing about him. Anyway, I hear Baldwin’s already shilling for Hulu… Do I smell moolah ????”
Business doesn’t work like that and never will. You can’t focus on gross revenue and completely disregard their expenses. They pretty much never tell anyone but a lot of the studios operate dangerously close to the red.
It’s part of a deliberate effort within the media to make the economic slump look much more dire than it is in order to make Obama and the Dems seem like our saviours when the economy turns around. And if the recovery takes a longer than typical period Obama gets to keep saying we had unrealistic expectations. Either way, the liberal press makes their support of Obama seem justified. Pathetic.
… not just that but they have to justify the layoffs! We were recently on location in the South West (husband and I) and the theatres were full — jammed — every weekend night. Yeah, really hurting guys! And you can see a movie for $10 in beautiful screens.
People are seeing movies. People are watching television. The content is good, therefore, people are watching. I know this. The studios knows this. The times are bad and it’s true — people want to see stories and get out of themselves! Plus, I had to wait a half hour for a chain restaurant last night in Agoura — um, people are still eating out on a Saturday night and spending $$$.
Nearly a 1000 employees axed at the Studios — But don’t tell SAG!!
May be confusing for you, but theatrical is a big LOSS LEADER. Which means that the other revenue streams need to make up the loss (which, by the way, is bigger now since budgets and marketing costs are way up).
The problem is that DVD is off 1/3, Pay TV (if you have a deal) is off a third and free tv is down too.
Add that all up, and more than 7 out of 10 films – including $125M grosser Ben Button – lose money!
Yes, the upper management of these companies make too much money.
That being said, the stocks didn’t move an inch as a result of this windfall revenue. A good month is does not make a good business in the long term.
There is no reason for the studios to make a bad deal with SAG.
WORKING actors don’t want it. WGA, DGA everyone has already made a deal. If there really is a business in internet productions and distribution (there’s nothing, NOTHING there now) just revisit the issue in a few years.
SAG, just blame your inability to get it done on Doug while that excuse still makes sense. Make a deal and let’s get on with it already.
Ok, that was the gross, what is the net? I know that movies aren’t made for free so yes the box office might of done $1 billion but how many millions or billions did these movies take in order to make? I know ccbb was $200 mill, so you add in 4 more of those budgets and there is your $1 billion which takes away from the “profit”. Plus if an investor puts up say $200 million to get a movie made and all the ATL has already got paid millions prior to release date, shouldn’t the investor make their money back off the boxoffice before anyone else gets a penny? Or should the investor just lose their investment while all the ATL keeps reeping in the money for their shitty performances?
This is a very misleading article, very surprising for Nikki.
The price of apples soars — but don’t tell the oranges!
DVD are NOT down 1/3! That is propaganda. When you add Blu-Ray DVDs to the mix, DVDs are hardly down at all for 2008 worldwide. The actual figure for 2008 worldwide DVD sales, including Blu-Ray disks is around -5%. In the worst economic downturn since the great depression.
Most of the downturn can be atributed to customer confusion over the changing format, they can’t decide whether to by a regular DVD or wait until they purchase a Blu-Ray player and buy the superior Blu-Ray disk.
Syn. Hollywood hasn’t asked for a bailout.
What are you talking about?
Rabble Rabble, you are WRONG. This was the most awesome DHD title ever. GOD BLESS NIKKI for stepping up and saying what the trades won’t.
Joe Brown, you have to look at what the 4th quarter DVD drop was. The recession did not really hit until then and the 4th quarter is the DVD environment that the studio are now living with. First of all the full year revenue was off 6% and the 4th quarter was off 12%. Oh and that is revenue, not profit; with lower prices, come lower profit.
BTW Blue Ray represented less than 3% of the overall revenue so it did not impact anything.
get your fact straights.
These studios need to be hauled before a congressional committee for their shady dealings. Record profits, cheap marketing. As if! All the while layoffs continue? Hollywood is self- cannibalizing. They are just as shady as the banks. There needs to be a cap on executive pay! They are indirectly affected by the bailout. Media giants are asking for money for their slumping newspapers, trust me, Hollywood ain’t far behind.
Who are you folks with your “well $1 billion isn’t all profit, there are expenses…”
What’s next: Sure I made $30,000 last year, but I don’t get to keep all that. There are taxes and expenses….
Really?
Thanks for the income 101 lesson.
The $1 BILLION figure for the month of January still stands against the studio claims that no one is going to the theaters.
And then
“Add that all up, and more than 7 out of 10 films – including $125M grosser Ben Button – lose money!”
Nice use of the exclamation point.
Ppppppppppplease.
@ Rabble:
Who cares about SAG? Well, for starters, anyone who believes in a fair deal for SAG.
I also look forward to tomorrow, and hope the AMPTP will give SAG what they’ve rightfully earned. But if the deal offered kills residuals, I’d settle in for a long wait. I just don’t see actors killing their livelihood at the behest of others not in their guild.
@ RandyG:
Educate yourself on who ACTUALLY OWNS the media, and you’ll see just how laughable the myth of the “liberal media” is — and how foolish it makes anyone look to repeat said myth.
here’s something else they might not want SAG to know, is happening so soon in this confusing dawn of new media.. ads are simply migrating to online programming (where there’s no pesky residuals!) until someone invents tivo for that…
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=134209
This was $1 billion gross in January alone. Don’t get me started on the studios’ net profit shenanigans. 7 out of 10 movies do not lose money; almost all are eventually profitable.
Yes, Iger and the rest make too much. How on earth do they justify their salaries when their primary responsibility is to increase shareholder wealth? (shame on the boards of directors-there’s the REAL problem in america irresponsible boards of directors–a whole other topic. . .)
Anyway, Nikki, as it has been pointed out, your incredibly simplistic view of grosses=profits is not accurate.
And those of you tossing around concepts and “facts” like dvds down 30 percent, blue ray makes up the difference etc. Really, these wildly inaccurate estimates are not helpful to the conversation.
Here are the facts. Ten years ago it was common for studios to sell 20 plus million copies of a dvd. These wildly profitable titles helped make sense of the whole slate.
THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN TODAY. It NEVER happens.
Studios are seeing less profit per title. And this is the trend that is causing the share prices to stagnate.
Folks, studios are publicly traded companies. LOOK AT THEIR PROFIT MARGINS! LOOK AT THEIR STOCK PRICES!
If the studios were really raking in the dough and have plenty to share, believe me, their stock prices would be going thru the roof, because in this economy everyone is looking for someone, anyone to make a profit.
Studios are such large companies now, no union can hold them hostage. They will simply cut the division that is not profitable. Look at the trend of the last few years. Fewer shows. More reality on tv. Fewer studio movies. Layoffs. This is impacting all of the average joes who will never get benefits like sag members. While Larry the Actor gets a little check every time his two-line role on Welcome Back Kotter airs in reruns or sells a dvd, the accountant who worked at Warner Bros. gets nothing for his ten years of around the clock service.
So while it is irritating to see senior execs make so much, it is beyond irritating to see these unions demand so much for so little work as well.
It is also irresponsible for the media to simplify things with an editorial slant and report it as news, nikki.
Hopefully people will be intelligent enough to think for themselves.
Hollywood is in the grips of what I call a self-fulfilling idiocy. It goes something like this…
1. Studios decide they’re going to make more money for themselves, by fiddling with the books to make it look like they’re losing money to keep from paying people their cut.
2. The people who were expecting their cut, get screwed, so they start demanding more money up front.
3. Costs of production skyrocket.
4. Profit margins shrink, investors start leaving, the top executives start clawing back more and more for themselves.
5. Profits completely disappear, and the companies start losing money.
The studios better hope that the actors, unions, and investors don’t start pestering Henry Waxman to investigate them when the commerce committee sits, that could unleash a whole world of hurt.
Wow, if the studios aren’t making any money then why are they in this business? GE should just go ahead and fold Universal.
damoneycompadre,
You are the one that had their facts wrong. You said “The problem is that DVD is off 1/3″. You did not qualify that statement.
You now says:
“First of all the full year revenue was off 6%”
That is a big difference from your first statement. Your current correct statement comports with what I said; “The actual figure for 2008 worldwide DVD sales, including Blu-Ray disks is [down] around -5%.”
You were caught spewing misinformation.