"Blockbuster" = A movie which is a huge financial success. In common usage a "blockbuster" is a movie that has a box-office of more than $100 million upon release in North America.
-Internet Movie Database definition

 

Big movie studios need big movies. What they particularly need, given the fact that they are all part of huge multi-media conglomerates, are big movies that can also translate into big theme park rides, big computer games, big t-shirts, big soundtrack CDs, big magazine circulations and big TV ratings. And for this they need big audiences.The first blockbuster movie is generally deemed to be Jaws (1975), directed by the then little known Steven Spielberg. It was a movie that everyone went to see, and that made its studio, Universal, nearly $500M worldwide. It was a blockbuster because it was a huge financial success, but it was also a blockbuster because it had global appeal, and attracted mass audiences. It only cost $12M to make, and movie studios have been chasing that kind of profit margin ever since.

Every summer, in time for the long school holidays, the main movie studios release a movie that they hope everyone will want to see. Around 40% of their year's takings are concentrated into this period. By everyone, they mean that the film does not have a niche audience. It is not a chick flick, or a kid pic, but it offers something to everyone. Perhaps it contains a major star, or is part of a franchise, or is a remake, or an adaptation of a book, comic, tv show or computer game. It will often be very clearly identifiable as belonging to a genre, and although it will contain plot twists, it is likely to come to satisfactory closure for the audience. It will have high production values, and much will be made of the special effects sequences. because of this, it will have a high budget, and the studio will be anxious about the box office it will achieve.

 

Summer 2004 potential blockbusters

The Observer newspaper offers an overview of the risks the studios are taking with the massive budgets of movies this summer.

Summer 2003

 

Summer 2002

You will need to check out the official sites for movie blockbusters this summer. You can find other details about these movies at either

You will also find a range of movie trailers at Apple's Quicktime site

For each other movies listed for this year, answer the following questions

  1. Does it fit the definition of blockbuster given above? Explain why.
  2. How likely is the movie to be successsful? What factors ensure (hopefully!) it will rake in a big profit for the studio?

Then look at last year's blockbusters. Find out

  1. What the box office takings were
  2. What critical reception was like
  3. Decide which one was most successful for the studio. Explain your answer.