ticket prices, length of run, up-front guarantees,
and box-office grosses. The latter do not reflect
what a theater or studio earns, but rather what the
public spends to see a film. What part of a movie’s
gross goes to the producers, investors, and those
(directors, writers, actors, etc.) who have a share of
the gross included in their contracts remains one of
Hollywood’s most mysterious dealings.
In a further attempt to create new revenue
streams for studios and new viewing options for
consumers, Hollywood is planning to bring movies
to homes at the same time (or close to it) that they
are released in theaters. Such distribution practices
are not yet proven to be economically or technically
feasible, and in any event, are likely to throw the
current method of theatrical distribution into tur-
moil. But as Netflix, for example, has significantly
raised its prices for mail-order DVDs and encour-
aged its subscribers to stream videos at home, we
have already begun to make major changes in the
way, time, cost, and place that we look at movies.
Some or all of this activity is responsive to the
voluntary movie-rating system administered by the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA),
the trade association of the industry (Table 11.5).
Because the rating helps determine the marketing
of a film and thus the potential size of its audience,
it is very important.^20 The release of Stanley
Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut(1999), provides
an excellent example of how a studio might try to
influence the rating decision. Featuring top box-
office stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Eyes
Wide Shutis a complex movie about sexual realities
and fantasies—not for everyone and certainly not
for younger viewers. Because Kubrick died just
after preparing a cut of the film, we do not know
whether the released version represents his com-
plete vision for it. However, we do know that Warner
Bros. digitally obscured an orgy scene to avoid an
NC-17 rating (no children under seventeen admitted),
and some have suggested that the studio also tried
to remove other material that might have proved
offensive and thus harmful to the box office. Eyes
Wide Shutwas eventually rated R (for strong sexual
content, nudity, language, and some drug-related
material); after opening strong, it proved a finan-
cial disappointment.TABLE 11.4 (continued)Rank Title Year Worldwide gross in billions (USD)39 The Da Vinci Code 2006 $758,239,851
40 Shrek Forever After 2010 $752,600,867
41 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe 2005 $745,011,272
42 The Matrix Reloaded 2003 $742,128,461
43 Up 2009 $731,342,744
44 The Twilight Saga: New Moon 2009 $709,711,008
45 Transformers 2007 $709,709,780
46 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 2010 $698,491,347
47 Forrest Gump 1 9 9 4 $ 6 7 7, 3 8 7,7 1 6
48 The Sixth Sense 1999 $672,806,292
49 Kung Fu Panda 2 2011 $661,580,941
50 Ice Age: The Meltdown 2006 $655,388,158Source: Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films (accessed October 2011).
(^20) Kirby Dick’s documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated(2006)
provides valuable insight into the workings of the rating system.
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