THE MARKET FOR MOTION PICTURES: RANK, REVENUE, AND SURVIVAL

Every motion picture is an innovation that competes for theater screens and audiences during its brief life against a changing array of imperfect substitutes. We analyze a large sample of motion pictures as an evolving rank tournament of survival and death. The results indicate that the failure rate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economic inquiry 1997-10, Vol.35 (4), p.783-797
Main Authors: VANY, ARTHUR S. DE, WALLS, W. DAVID
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antitrust
Audiences
Competition
Copyright
Economic aspects
Economic theory
Economics
Expenditures
Failure analysis
Fairs & exhibitions
Federal regulation
Licensing
Marketing
Motion picture industry
Motion pictures
Profit
Revenue
Statistical analysis
Statistics
Studies
Theater
Theaters & cinemas
Ticket sales
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Summary:Every motion picture is an innovation that competes for theater screens and audiences during its brief life against a changing array of imperfect substitutes. We analyze a large sample of motion pictures as an evolving rank tournament of survival and death. The results indicate that the failure rate of motion pictures is time‐dependent and survival time is strongly related to the number of initial bookings. Weekly box office revenue is highly convex in rank, which is consistent with Rosen's superstar phenomenon. Our results have implications for motion picture licensing arrangements, which have been severely restricted by U.S. court decisions.
ISSN:0095-2583
1465-7295
DOI:10.1111/j.1465-7295.1997.tb01964.x