Reading #07: Do Hollywood stars guarantee a film’s success?

Reading Day: #07: 

Do Hollywood Stars Guarantee A film’s Success?

         Big stars. Big money. Big films? What is the formula for success when it comes to films? No one is sure. Is it the stars? Maybe. Or maybe not.

There are certainly benefits to using a star in a film. It makes the film easier to market. Stars also help sell more tickets and drive DVD sales, which are a big part of studio revenue. For example, the announcement in 2002 that Tom Cruise was not going to star in the film Cold Mountain reduced the movie’s expected revenue by $10 million. Then, later, the announcement that he was in talks to play a leading role in the film The Last Samurai increased the film’s expected revenue by $28 million.

However, a star does not guarantee success. Bewitched (starring Nicole Kidman) cost an estimated $85 million but only made about $62 million at the American box office. Waterworld (1995) had Kevin Costner in it and cost $175 million to make but only grossed $88 million at the US box office. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) starred Eddie Murphy and cost $100 million to make, but only earned about $8.9 million worldwide. The Island (2005) had a production budget of $126 million and had stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in it, but only made about $35 million. And Jim Carrey’s A Christmas Carol took just $30 million after costs of more than $170 million. And there are plenty of examples of films without stars that have made a lot of money.

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial and the original Star Wars series did not need stars to make them successful. Many low-budget films with unknown actors also make a lot of money. The Blair Witch Project had a budget of about $500,000, but made more than $248,639,099 worldwide. The comedy The Hangover had a little-known cast but made $459 million at global box office. The adolescent vampire romance Twilight took $186 million in the US despite starring unknown English actor Robert Pattinson. Then there was Slumdog Millionaire which has no stars in it at all but which made a lot of money and won a few Oscars as well.

 In the end, if it is a bad film with a good star, it will not make much difference. “Movies with stars are successful not because of the star, but because the star chooses projects that people tend to like,” said Arthur S. De Vany, a professor of economics at the University of California. And as Sidney Sheinberg, the former president of MCA Universal, has said, “The simple fact is that if you pay a star a great deal of money for a film that people don’t want to see, then it

GLOSSARY

To drive v: if something "drives" sales, it causes sales to increase.

Revenue n: money that is produced.

An announcement n: something that is said in public or to the media.

To reduce vb: to decrease.

In talks exp: if someone is “in talks”, they are discussing something.

A leading role n: the main part in a film.

The box office n: the money made at “the box office” represents all the money made from people going to the cinema.

To gross vb: to make an amount of money before tax.

To earn vb: to make an amount of money.