Blockbuster movies bring in billions for the studios behind them, and film entertainment is a multi billion dollar industry, particularly when we add in revenue from franchising. But with production costs that can run into the hundreds of millions, studios must be careful about which movies they invest in. The new media arm of Microsoft, like any other business, should look carefully at the data behind the top office earners in order to make informed decisions about which projects will likely provide the best return. We can determine this by taking a close look at the genres of movies that are most frequently represented within the top quartile of film's worldwide gross, examining the relationship if (any) between film budgets and earnings, and finally examining when to release the film to maximize profits. To do this we'll be using three datasets:
- imdb- 146144 entries, 2010 to present
- BOM- 3387 entries, 2010 to 2018
- The Numbers- 5782 entries, from 1915 to 2018
In this project we'll be exploring what types of films are currently doing the best at the box office and then translate those findings into actionable insights. We'll use csv files from Box Office Mojo (BOM) and The Numbers(TN) to examine the role of budget, and release date on earnings, and a SQL file from imdb to examine genres of both the top quartile (worldwide box office gross), and top 20 films. It's important to note that we'll ONLY be looking at the income generated by ticket sales, and not franchising. To view the presentation click here
There has been a historically strong market for Action/Adventure films that remains vital.
Investing in films remains risky- there are significant cost outlays to produce movies- but those risks are very often rewarded with strong box office showings. There is a direct correlation between big budgets and big earnings, so any projects should be given large budgets.
Any films this new media arm releases should be put out in early summer to maximize profit.
It would be worth taking the time to research live streaming ROI to weigh the possible advantages of capturing both theater and home streaming income. Theater income is just starting to recover from it's covid induced dip, and income from streaming coud be a excellent way to insulate the media division from future losses as home viewing theaters become more popular.
Additionally, while a large number of the most recent blockbuster films can be classified as Action/Adventure films with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy spin, there is a largely untapped market to produce these kinds of epic sagas with more diverse cast members. As the recent success of movies like "Black Panther" demonstrate, viewers are hungry for films that include characters that better represent the diverse world we live in. Microsoft should explore licensing rights not just for diverse heros in comic books, but also novels by authors like Octavia Butler and NK Jemison who have proven in the notoriously difficult market of publishing that they can maintain a significant readership.
