[lbo-talk] a question about the movie business

[Andy]

On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 2:07 AM,  <dredmond at efn.org> wrote:
> On Tue, May 25, 2010 10:18 pm, SA wrote:
>
>> Here's a question for those who know something about the business of
>> movie-making. There's so much talk these days about movie studios being
>> unable to turn a profit.
>
> Not true, as far as I know. Hollywood took a hit from the recession -- DVD
> sales are down, but BluRay and online sales are up (3D films may also be
> the next big money-spinner, though the jury is still out on that one). The
> economics are like this: most films fail, but a few earn outsize returns
> and pay for the failures. So if a studio doesn't have that blockbuster,
> they can get hammered. Still, the industry is in a heck of a lot better
> shape than most of the US economy.

Is he referring to the movies, or the studios?  My understanding is
that movies are separate companies that only rarely and accidentally
make a profit, but pay fees to studios.   Hence "Hollywood
accounting", ie never take just a percentage of the net.

-- 
Andy