Hollywood Economics

Movies expected to perform well can flop, whilst independent movies with low budgets can be wildly successful. In this text, De Vany casts his eye over all aspects of the business to present some intriguing conclusions.
Just how risky is the movie industry? Is screenwriter William Goldman's claim that "nobody knows anything" really true? Can a star and a big opening change a movie's risks and return? Do studio executives really earn their huge paychecks? This text answers these and many other questions by using powerful analytical models to uncover the wild uncertainty that shapes the industry. The centrepiece of the analysis is the unpredictable and often chaotic dynamic behaviour of motion picture audiences.