How to Make a Billion Dollar Movie

Movie budgets are ever increasing, and that’s been particularly evident this summer. The norm of $150 million for a blockbuster has increased to around $200 million over the course of the last few years. I’ve already mentioned how the notion of spending more money equals bigger returns is a bad business plan [see Hollywood Take Note: Less is More], but it’s clear that there’s an unspoken goal when releasing these sometimes bloated and over produced tentpoles: Make a billion dollars.  Very few studios have had repeated success at hitting this mark and those that have succeeded have had a little help from 3D and ticket prices going up, but it’s clear that’s what they are aiming for. So, here’s some ideas on how to meet that number…

Of the 15 movies that have grossed a billion dollars worldwide (I’m omitting The Phantom Menace due to it only hitting this mark with the 3D rerelease) only a few are non-sequels. Aiming for a billion dollars in the first instalment of a would-be franchise is a bad idea.  This can lead to an excess of spending and it seems like audiences are becoming tired of loud movies with ‘Excessive Unconvincing CGI’ – see Pacific Rim and The Lone Ranger.  Use the first movie to build the foundation for sequels.  Iron Man is a perfect example of a movie focusing on building mythos and character development instead of mindless CGI clutter action scenes, and set off what is easily going to be the highest grossing franchise in the not-to-distant future.

When you make a movie that’s in development for years, costs millions of dollars and shoots over months, you’d think studios would be more cautious with the release dates of their movies.  Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover: Part III are perfect examples of poor release dates, with studios playing chicken with other franchises to see whose going to turn away first.  Competition is the biggest killer of box office returns above anything else.  Star Trek Into Darkness had everything going for it but it didn’t reach the gross of the first movie due to competition.  What studios don’t realize is there are only so many people going to see movies and only so much money they can spend in one weekend. Which means somebody is going to lose.  Counter programming can work sometimes, but regardless there’s always overlap in demographics.  Several of the movies that have made a billion were released in the Fall or Winter.  It’s usually due to lack of competition.  Release dates are the one place where it’s cool to play it safe. It doesn’t mean a lack of faith in a project by simply moving it a few weeks – it means not being bullheaded and thinking things through.

This is the most important component of making a billion dollars at the box office.  More or less every movie that has hit a billion has been good.  There are exceptions to every rule and you can be a hipster and say that a few of the movies are bad, but for the most part they’re outstanding films.  4 out of the 15 have been nominated for Best Picture and two of them won.  Making a good movie means repeat business. I remember seeing The Avengers twice in the same weekend.  It also means good word of mouth, which will bring people in who might have otherwise been on the fence. This should be the obvious goal of any studio for every movie, and the ones that put an emphasis on this usually have the best success.  At the height of Pixar’s critical acclaim their movies were grossing significantly higher returns, and now their movies are making less and less. But does making a lot of money mean a quality movie? If it makes enough, then kind of.

Let’s be honest. Studios make movies to make money.  There are a few passion projects each year which are made genuinely because of love, but in general money is the objective. Studios should focus on picking movies that have a built in fan base and then instead of exploiting that fan base, make a movie that appeals to them as well as a wider audience. Instead of making every sequel bigger and louder, make them more personal and introspective.  People want to be entertained, but they don’t want to be insulted.  Once studios and audiences meet on the same level it will be better for both parties.

Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker.