Art and Business of Film Making
Art and Business of Film Making
The film industry is the most important form of entertainment of our time. The audiences in which films reach span from young to old, and the business side of the industry is driving force behind the wide appeal that the movie industry has today. Motivation of actors, actresses, and directors are exposed as they decide whether to do a movie for the business side with the box office, or do it for art side through gaining critical approval and awards. Whichever they choose, success can be measured in both critical approval and net gross. Very few films win an Oscar or Academy Award for best film, actor, or director that finishes on top or even in the top 15 at the box office. Numbers in the box office and awards won in 2004 and 2005 deliver trends in both individual films and genres that give evidence that the two sides of the industry hold very little similarities in relation to success. Box office numbers for 2004 show a pretty strong correlation between top selling genres. In 2004, Shrek 2, Spider Man 2, The Incredibles, Harry Potter, Polar Express, and Shark Tale were all in the top 11 best-selling movies in the box office (Domestic Grosses). All of these movies have a strong appeal to a younger audience. These movies were all very well marketed through TV ads and trailers on the internet, because their goal was to sell as many tickets as possible, which directed their motivation of success towards total gross income. Besides ads, there was an infinite gross to reach because of all of the merchandising there was to be made. These movies had their own board games, backpacks, fruit snacks, etc. because the target market were young people that simply love those kinds of things. One will never see a backpack for Capote or Million Dollar Baby, because the goals set at the beginning of the project was to do the film for art’s sake, and not as much for business sake. The target market of a younger audience was
The film industry is the most important form of entertainment of our time. The audiences in which films reach span from young to old, and the business side of the industry is driving force behind the wide appeal that the movie industry has today. Motivation of actors, actresses, and directors are exposed as they decide whether to do a movie for the business side with the box office, or do it for art side through gaining critical approval and awards. Whichever they choose, success can be measured in both critical approval and net gross. Very few films win an Oscar or Academy Award for best film, actor, or director that finishes on top or even in the top 15 at the box office. Numbers in the box office and awards won in 2004 and 2005 deliver trends in both individual films and genres that give evidence that the two sides of the industry hold very little similarities in relation to success. Box office numbers for 2004 show a pretty strong correlation between top selling genres. In 2004, Shrek 2, Spider Man 2, The Incredibles, Harry Potter, Polar Express, and Shark Tale were all in the top 11 best-selling movies in the box office (Domestic Grosses). All of these movies have a strong appeal to a younger audience. These movies were all very well marketed through TV ads and trailers on the internet, because their goal was to sell as many tickets as possible, which directed their motivation of success towards total gross income. Besides ads, there was an infinite gross to reach because of all of the merchandising there was to be made. These movies had their own board games, backpacks, fruit snacks, etc. because the target market were young people that simply love those kinds of things. One will never see a backpack for Capote or Million Dollar Baby, because the goals set at the beginning of the project was to do the film for art’s sake, and not as much for business sake. The target market of a younger audience was