IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jculte/v25y2001i3p157-184.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stardom and the Profitability of Film Making: Warner Bros. in the 1930s

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Pokorny
  • John Sedgwick

Abstract

This paper examines the film production performance of Warner Bros. during the 1930s, placing particular emphasis on the manner in which Warners invested in stars. Warners are shown to have acted rationally in the sense of having consistently invested in previously successful actors. An assessment is then made of how successful such a strategy proved to be. Drawing a distinction between high and medium/low budget production, the deployment of established stars in high budget productions did not appear to have constituted a successful strategy. The production of medium/low budget films, by contrast, provided a more stable environment, in which there were clear returns to the deployment of previously successful actors. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Pokorny & John Sedgwick, 2001. "Stardom and the Profitability of Film Making: Warner Bros. in the 1930s," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 25(3), pages 157-184, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:25:y:2001:i:3:p:157-184
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1010964032248
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1023/A:1010964032248
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1023/A:1010964032248?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Weinstein, Mark, 1998. "Profit-Sharing Contracts in Hollywood: Evolution and Analysis," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 67-112, January.
    2. Hamlen, William A, Jr, 1991. "Superstardom in Popular Music: Empirical Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(4), pages 729-733, November.
    3. Chisholm, Darlene C, 1997. "Profit-Sharing versus Fixed-Payment Contracts: Evidence from the Motion Pictures Industry," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 169-201, April.
    4. John Sedgwick & Michael Pokorny, 1999. "Movie Stars and the Distribution of Financially Successful Films in the Motion Picture Industry," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 23(4), pages 319-323, November.
    5. Darlene C. Chisholm, 1993. "Asset Specificity and Long-Term Contracts: The Case of the Motion-Pictures Industry," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 143-155, Spring.
    6. De Vany, Arthur & Walls, W David, 1996. "Bose-Einstein Dynamics and Adaptive Contracting in the Motion Picture Industry," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(439), pages 1493-1514, November.
    7. Hamlen, William A, Jr, 1994. "Variety and Superstardom in Popular Music," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(3), pages 395-406, July.
    8. Sedgwick, John & Pokorny, Michael, 1998. "The Risk Environment of Film Making: Warner Bros in the Inter-War Years," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 196-220, April.
    9. Steven Albert, 1999. "Movie Stars and the Distribution of Financially Successful Films in the Motion Picture Industry," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 23(4), pages 325-329, November.
    10. Arthur De Vany & W. Walls, 1999. "Uncertainty in the Movie Industry: Does Star Power Reduce the Terror of the Box Office?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 23(4), pages 285-318, November.
    11. Steven Albert, 1998. "Movie Stars and the Distribution of Financially Successful Films in the Motion Picture Industry," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 22(4), pages 249-270, December.
    12. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    13. Kerr, Catherine E., 1990. "Incorporating the Star: The Intersection of Business and Aesthetic Strategies in Early American Film," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(3), pages 383-410, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Angelini & Massimiliano Castellani, 2019. "Cultural and economic value: a critical review," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 43(2), pages 173-188, June.
    2. John Sedgwick & Michael Pokorny, 2005. "The film business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 58(1), pages 79-112, February.
    3. Moez Hababou & Nawel Amrouche & Kamel Jedidi, 2016. "Measuring Economic Efficiency in the Motion Picture Industry: a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 3(3), pages 144-158, December.
    4. Michel Clement & Björn Christensen & Sönke Albers & Steffen Guldner, 2007. "Was bringt ein Oscar im Filmgeschäft? Eine empirische Analyse unter Berücksichtigung des Selektionseffekts," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 198-220, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Darlene Chisholm, 2004. "Two-Part Share Contracts, Risk, and the Life Cycle of Stars: Some Empirical Results from Motion Picture Contracts," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 28(1), pages 37-56, February.
    2. Alexis Dantec & Florence Levy, 2005. "Stars et box office : un état des approches théoriques et empiriques," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2005-13, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    3. Jehoshua Eliashberg & Anita Elberse & Mark A.A.M. Leenders, 2006. "The Motion Picture Industry: Critical Issues in Practice, Current Research, and New Research Directions," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(6), pages 638-661, 11-12.
    4. Darlene C Chisholm, 2011. "Motion Pictures," Chapters, in: Ruth Towse (ed.), A Handbook of Cultural Economics, Second Edition, chapter 39, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. W. Walls, 2005. "Modeling Movie Success When ‘Nobody Knows Anything’: Conditional Stable-Distribution Analysis Of Film Returns," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 29(3), pages 177-190, August.
    6. Jordi McKenzie, 2012. "The Economics Of Movies: A Literature Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 42-70, February.
    7. Amanda S. King & John T. King & Michael Reksulak, 2017. "Signaling for access to high-demand markets: evidence from the US motion picture industry," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(4), pages 441-465, November.
    8. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2006. "Explaining the Star Shift in the Media– Why “Manufactured” Celebrities are More Lucrative than “Self-Made” Superstars," Working Papers 0057, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU).
    9. Allègre Hadida, 2010. "Commercial success and artistic recognition of motion picture projects," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 34(1), pages 45-80, February.
    10. Morris Holbrook & Michela Addis, 2008. "Art versus commerce in the movie industry: a Two-Path Model of Motion-Picture Success," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 32(2), pages 87-107, June.
    11. Natalia Gmerek, 2015. "The determinants of Polish movies’ box office performance in Poland," Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 1(1), pages 15-35.
    12. Jordi McKenzie, 2010. "Do 'African American' films perform better or worse at the box office? An empirical analysis of motion picture revenues and profits," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(16), pages 1559-1564.
    13. John Sedgwick & Michael Pokorny, 2005. "The film business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 58(1), pages 79-112, February.
    14. Darren Filson & James H. Havlicek, 2018. "The performance of global film franchises: installment effects and extension decisions," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(3), pages 447-467, August.
    15. Wen-jhan Jane & Wei-peng Chen & Yuan-lin Hsu, 2015. "The impact of deregulation on the movie box office after Taiwan’s entry into the WTO: the difference-in-differences estimation," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 289-308, December.
    16. repec:clg:wpaper:2008-28 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Darlene Chisholm & Víctor Fernández-Blanco & S. Abraham Ravid & W. David Walls, 2015. "Economics of motion pictures: the state of the art," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 39(1), pages 1-13, February.
    18. W. Walls, 2010. "Superstars and heavy tails in recorded entertainment: empirical analysis of the market for DVDs," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 34(4), pages 261-279, November.
    19. Selvaretnam, Geethanjali & Yang, Jen-Yuan, 2015. "Factors Affecting the Financial Success of Motion Pictures: What is the Role of Star Power?," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-19, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    20. W. D. Walls, 2009. "The Market for Motion Pictures in Thailand: Rank, Revenue, and Survival at the Box Office," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 8(2), pages 115-131, August.
    21. Selvaretnam, Geethanjali & Yang, Jen-Yuan, 2015. "Factors Affecting the Financial Success of Motion Pictures: What is the Role of Star Power?," SIRE Discussion Papers 2015-19, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:25:y:2001:i:3:p:157-184. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.