Publications

November 1995 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Jurassic Park

By: John A. Quelch

Managers at MCA/Universal Merchandising are reviewing worldwide merchandising and licensing arrangements for the movie Jurassic Park. View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Globalization; Film Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2011
Teaching Note

Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A) and (B) (TN)

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Teaching Note for 711017 and 711018. View Details

Keywords: Markets; Strategy; Intellectual Property; Crime and Corruption; Film Entertainment; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

December 1994
Case

Being There: Sony Corporation and Columbia Pictures

By: Debora L. Spar

In September 1989, Sony Corp. of Japan bid $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures. It was the highest bid ever by a Japanese company for any U.S. property. The case examines the validity of Sony's objectives in making this purchase, and also the political uproar that the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

17 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Protecting against the Pirates of Bollywood

In 2007, Sony Pictures became the first multinational studio to enter the India film business known as Bollywood with its $7 million film Saawariya. The movie grossed only $9 million. That same year, Walt... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Motion Pictures & Video

31 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Rethinking Marketing’s Conventional Wisdom

position in the market. Q: Do you have a favorite case? A: One of the cases I wrote is about BMW Films' award-winning marketing campaign. These were eight beautiful short films by famous directors, each less than ten minutes long, stuck... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Service

July 2010
Teaching Note

Xanadu on Broadway

By: Anita Elberse

Teaching Note for 508062. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Film Entertainment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Failure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

September 2018
Supplement

AMC Entertainment: Creating a Spectacular Moviegoing Experience (B)

By: Henry McGee and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case describes how AMC reacted to the threat from the subscription service MoviePass and provides AMC’s second quarter fiscal year 2018 results. View Details

Keywords: Exhibitors; Movies; Film Entertainment; Competitive Strategy; Finance; Performance

January 2006
Case

Negotiating for the Motion Picture Association of America and the Motion Picture Association: Jack Valenti (A)

By: James K. Sebenius, Ellen Knebel and Erin Egan

Summarizes the background and career highlights of Jack Valenti, longtime head of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Motion Picture Association. Sets up three difficult negotiation challenges facing Valenti over a rating system for movies, the financial... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Negotiation; Problems and Challenges; United States

Article

Scandal, Social Movement, and Change: Evidence from #MeToo in Hollywood

By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang

Social movements have the potential to effect change in firm decision-making. In this paper, we examine whether the #MeToo movement, spurred by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, led to changes in the likelihood of Hollywood producers working with female writers on new... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inequality; Social Movement; Scandal; Creative Industries; Project Selection; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Film Entertainment; Projects; Change

Read Now

2022
Working Paper

Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from the Weinstein Scandal and #MeToo

By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang

How do the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo affect women’s likelihood of working in male-dominated domains and the types of ideas developed in Hollywood? To discern these events’ impact, we exploit the variation in whether a producer previously collaborated with... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inequality; Gender Segregation; Social Movement; Direction Of Innovation; Creative Industries; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Creativity; Film Entertainment

Read Now

June 2018
Article

Video Content Marketing: The Making of Clips

By: Xuan Liu, Savannah Wei Shi, Thales S. Teixeira and Michel Wedel

Consumers have an increasingly wide variety of options available to entertain themselves. This poses a challenge for content aggregators who want to effectively promote their video content online through original trailers of movies, sitcoms, and video games. Marketers... View Details

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Marketing; Digital Marketing; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Improvement

09 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Career Advancement Without Experience

do I get there?" For their study, O'Mahony and Bechky surveyed two strikingly different groups: high-tech contractors and film crew members. While roles in the film industry tend to be more fixed—a key... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Motion Pictures & Video; Technology

03 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 3

enhance earnings/share through share repurchase in an environment of low interest rates. Purchase this note:http://hbr.org/search/212101-PDF-ENG Cahiers du Cinéma and The French Film Industry Mukti Khaire, Elena Corsi, and Emilie... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/13-008.pdf Risky Business: The Impact of Property Rights on Investment and Revenue in the Film Industry Authors:Venkat Kuppuswamy and Carliss Y. Baldwin Abstract Our paper tests a key prediction of property... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Finding a Response: Pixar and a Coy Story

Pixar, Inc. is the subject of an article that suggests its share price is currently overvalued. The article is picked up in summary by several wire services. Pixar's management must determine the appropriate public response. Its choices range from ignoring the article,... View Details

Keywords: Media; Animation Entertainment; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Communication Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

07 Jan 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs

managers can team with creative talent in six "culture industries": Fashion, publishing, art/architecture/design, film, music, and food. Her subjects include fashion pioneer Chanel, publishers Penguin and Atavist, film icons... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Giant Cinema

By: Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, Erik Stafford and Kathleen Luchs

The owner of Giant Cinema must decide whether to invest in a digital projector, a new technology for screening films, or purchase a traditional projector. The impact of the new technology is uncertain, and the case describes probabilities for different outcomes that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Film Entertainment; Technology Adoption; Financial Strategy; Investment; Outcome or Result; Risk and Uncertainty; Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry