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27 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Judgment Aggregation in Creative Production: Evidence from the Movie Industry

Keywords: by Hong Luo, Jeffrey T. Macher, and Michael Wahlen; Motion Pictures & Video

21 Mar 2016
Lessons from the Classroom

When Your Classmate is an NBA Superstar (or Fashion Model, or Movie Actress)

why this launch worked despite violating the rules.” But for every smash hit like Beyoncé’s, the entertainment industry sure sees its fair share of flops. “A lot of products these companies introduce fail,” Elberse says. “If you think about a publisher, View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports; Media & Broadcasting; Education

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 2021
Case

Cinépolis

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Fernanda Miguel

Two weeks after Cinepolis released a documentary film about corruption, a judge ordered its provisional suspension, claiming it had to be edited before it continued to be shown, against Mexican cinematography laws. Cinépolis, Latin America’s largest movie theater chain... View Details

Keywords: Movies; Entertainment; Corruption; Risk Assessment; Communication Strategy; Crime and Corruption; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Ethics; Leadership; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Mexico; Latin America; North and Central America

April 2016 (Revised June 2019)
Case

The Walt Disney Studios

By: Anita Elberse

In December 2015, Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, celebrates the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens—only the latest in a string of big bets that he has overseen. Disney pursues a “tentpole strategy” that revolves around at least eight... View Details

25 Aug 2022
News

Turning Point: Dream Weaver

books. How do you get out of the Bronx? Being good at science. I was valedictorian of my class at Bronx Science and that was the ticket to Harvard, a school I had only visited by watching the movie Love Story. As an undergrad, I realized... View Details

Keywords: career; life experience; Hollywood; movies; film

September 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Wanda Studios Qingdao

By: Henry McGee and Willy Shih

Wang Jianlin, founder and Chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group (Wanda), kept close tabs on one of his flagship projects going up on the shores of the Yellow Sea. There construction was underway on Wanda Studios Qingdao, the largest film and production facility in the... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Movie Industry; Vertical Specialization; Film; Film Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment; Vertical Integration; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; China; United States

March 2019 (Revised July 2020)
Case

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams from related businesses... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry; Growth Strategy; Profit Vs. Growth; Subscription Business; Cash Burn; Data Analytics; Get-big-fast; Buyer Power; Strategy Implementation; Movie Industry; Racing; Entrepreneurship; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Disruption; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

May 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions

By: Anita Elberse

In March 2017, Jason Blum, the founder and chief executive officer of film and television production company Blumhouse Productions, has another blockbuster on his hands with the movie Get Out, produced for just $4.5 million. Remarkable returns for its micro-budget... View Details

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Supplement

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams form related businesses... View Details

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

The launch of ChatGPT seems to have reignited doomsday fears about artificial intelligence (AI) replacing workers en masse. Are these fears prescient or overblown? A recent survey shows 62 percent of Americans think AI will majorly impact work and jobholders over the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

November 1993
Case

Edgar J. Scherick Associates

Edgar Scherick, a leading television movie producer, must determine whether fact-based movies garner higher Nielsen ratings than fictional movies. Scherick has data for all 1992 TV movies broadcast on major networks. Ultimately, Scherick must decide whether it is... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Box Office Power of Stars

of that product. That can work in a variety of ways. For example, in the case of films, powerful actors and actresses can help guarantee financing and push a movie through the development process; they can aid in generating interest from... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

October 2007
Article

The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures: An Empirical Investigation Using a Simulated Market

By: Anita Elberse and Bharat N. Anand

One of the most visible and publicized trends in the movie industry is the escalation in movie advertising expenditures over time. Yet, the returns to movie advertising are poorly understood. The main reason is that disentangling the causal effect of advertising on... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Stocks; Investment Return; Price; Revenue; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

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08 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Joel Waldfogel, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

November 1993
Case

Colonial Broadcasting Co.

Colonial Broadcasting, a major American television network, must determine whether fact-based television movies garner higher Nielsen ratings than movies based on fictional concepts. Furthermore, the network must decide whether to accept a fixed-fee advertising... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Advertising; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States