Kasey Bell
Reuter
Economics
Do you wanna build a snowman?
The Lion King, Toy Story, Frozen, Finding Nemo, besides the obvious fact that they are all movies what do they have in common? Money. Money is a key factor in life. With money enough just isn’t enough. It makes the world go ‘round and makes up economy go between recessions and expansions. No money means no spending, no spending means a crap economy. Here’s where people with tons of free time come in handy. They go to malls, they go to restaurants but, most importantly they go to movies.
On November 22. 2013 one of the all time best rated Disney movies was released to theaters across the country. Within just a few days already millions were in love. The popular new blockbuster movie “Frozen” is a classic Disney movie that millions have come to know and love in the past few months.
The movie Frozen is a cute story of two princesses. The eldest sister, Elsa, a powerful witch that turns their home into a frozen wasteland and flees for the safety of the town. The younger one, Anna, sets out to find her with her trusty snowman at her side. The sisters reach an equilibrium when they both finally realize that they need each other to live. Just like the economy relies on people spending money to stay afloat. At the end of the movie the storm ends and the two princesses return home and all is well again, just like in every other Disney movie. The perfect happy ending.
Currently, Frozen is the highest-grossing animated film in history; earning profits that exceed $770 million in global revenue. “Disney is on a roll, and no one is leveraging platforms as well,” said Tuna Amobi, an analyst at S&P Capital IQ. “Its studios are appealing to a global audience, and the profits not only come from the box office but can translate into merchandising and sales of DVDs and other products.” At $475 million, Disney’s movie studios profits have quadrupled in the past three months. The film kicked it off big, according to the Hollywood Reporter, breaking an all time record and earning $93 million over its long Thanksgiving weekend opening.
A smash hit like this movie leads to very good things for our economy. The second quarter net profit rose by 27% making it $1.9 billion. Disney’s stocks also rose; 0.6% in after-hours trading to $81.48. The company hopes to create large sales off this movie in their stores across the country. The selling of the movie’s products will lead to an even larger revenue and bigger boost for the economy.
The success of this movie shows us how something as simple as going to see a movie can make a huge difference and often times we don’t even realize it. All we think about is how much it sucks having to pay $10 to see a movie. When really, compared to all those other number it isn’t a big deal. As I said earlier, money makes the world go ‘round. As long as people have money they will spend it and the economy will stay stable for the most part.
I really liked your topic Kasey! Although I haven't seen Frozen myself, I hear so many people rave about it. I felt like it was all people talked about for a good month. So it's no surprise to me that it had such a good impact on the economy. However what did surprise me was the picture you had included into your post. I had no idea that Shrek 2 and Despicable Me 2 made that much money! I was actually even more shocked that I didn't see Monsters Inc. up on that list. But I can definitely see what you're saying about money. We're so blind to the fact that just going to the movies can have a really large impact on our economy, and especially since we live in a state that's cold half the year I'm sure Wisconsin brings a lot of money into the movie industry.
ReplyDeleteFrozen is a very good movie and it makes sense why they made so much money. What did surprise me, however, is that Shrek 2 made the top of the list (in the picture you showed). It is weird to think about how a movie can impact the economy, but Disney has been impacting the economy for decades now with (like you said) Lion King, Finding Nemo, and all the Princesses.
ReplyDeleteYour post immediately caught my attention, because not only am I a big fan, but I've commonly wondered about how much revenue it was bringing in. Obviously, it was a smash at theaters; kids everywhere were in love and parents were funneling thousands and thousands of dollars into the Frozen industry. Dvd's, costumes, blankets, stuffed animals, all Frozen themed merchandise was flying off the shelves. I really like how you put it into perspective. We constantly hear about how much this movie made at the box office this weekend, but we never really took it as far as to consider how that effected the economy. Cool post! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great topic to write about because Frozen is such a popular movie for not only children, but even teenage girls and adults. Beyond just the movie, the economy flourishes through the sale of Frozen products. Character dolls, costumes, or even the music from the movie is very popular at this time. It is hard to take on a perspective of the economy without focusing on taxes or stocks or any of the typical economic terms. It is comforting in seeing the positive impact a delightful children's movie can have on the economy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised how popular Frozen has been and even I love the movie, but it is amazing to see that of all the Disney movies it's been the most popular and produced the most profit. I definitely agree that $10 seems like a lot to go see a movie, and I never imaged they would impact the economy so much, but for one movie to increase a net profit by 27% is pretty significant. At the rate Disney is going I wonder how high their stocks will be valued in 5-10 years. Nice topic Kasey!
ReplyDeleteFilm is such an interesting thing to analyze when relating it back to the economy. Frozen was a huge hit and it's interesting to see just how much revenue a typical Disney movie makes. Just because of how big of a hit this movie was, people instantly went and bought stocks, a simple way of increasing their own personal profit. They may not have necessarily seen the movie but just hearing about its success was enough for them to invest their own money in the cause.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the economic impact of movies is always really interesting. I never saw Frozen, but I know that almost everyone has and it's been such a great hit because of the musical aspects. Buying stocks in movie can be beneficial, but at the same time, people should be careful since just because one Disney movie was a hit, the next one may not be.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that the movie industry was very interesting. Looking at series such as Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and ect have always brought in unreal amounts of money but this past winter Frozen was the biggest disney movie in a long time and with children being able to see it they beg their parents to let them watch it repeatedly like I had as a child and now the kids I babysit for, as it may get annoying parents they start invest large sums of money into clothing, stuffed animals, and soundtracks to keep their kids at peace. Disney knows this so they inflate the prices because parents will do almost anything to keep their children happy including paying for that huge stuffed animal that was at the Disney store.
ReplyDeleteMovies are such a big part of everyone life. It is always a race to see the newest one. Yet know one knows how simply going to a movie and spending money really helps our economy. No one could ever understand how much money that a Disney animated movie could make. Yet someone could not see that though one movie can be so great the next could be a down fall.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am the only one who has not seen this movie, but I do know somthing about it. Like Morgan mentioned not every movie is great, plenty are busts, compared to others at least, but still not #1 movies. I didn't know it was the highest grossing movie Disney has ever made, which does surprise me. I knew it was popular, but not that popular.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that something as simple as going to a movie can affect the economy in such a drastic way. I saw the movie a few weeks after it came out in theaters, not knowing the $10 spent would contribute to the $770 million in global revenue. It's amazing that this brand new movie brought in more revenue than successful "chain" movies like Toy Story and Shrek. I really liked the movie, but did not expect it to out do the classics. The popularity with Frozen proves how technology and film are infiltrating our lives and boosting the economy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article, I just recently saw the movie frozen and loved it. Disney movies always seem to be box office successes, and while I agree Frozen is a good movie the fact that the movie on its own increased the net profit of Disney by 27% is amazing i cant believe how significant of change one movie could cause.
ReplyDeleteMovies are what shape our generation. I’m one of the many people that spend my Tuesday nights at Marcus Majestic for five dollar movie Tuesdays catching the new hit film for only five dollars and of course free popcorn included. When I first saw the movie Frozen I wasn’t that thrilled about it and to me it seemed like any other kid’s film. Once the film was released for a few months it became a trend to people my age and everyone was talking about it and singing songs from the movie. Not only has this movie attracted kids but it has also attracted teens and even parents. I think Disney is be very small about their recent movie production and have attempted to attract all generations to their movies. It seems as if Disney has made a lot of its money off the movie Frozen. But what would happen if there movies aren’t as successful as frozen and only attract certain generations? Will Disney have to change its image in the magic of their movies to stay successful?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that a brand new Disney movie outdid "Finding Nemo" and "Shrek" on the highest grossing profit rank is wild, because those movies have been so popular for many years and they are great movies. I personally think that Shrek is better than the movie frozen, but then again that's my own opinion. Frozen has been so popularly talked about throughout the world ever since it has come out and that's why it is bringing in the most money.
ReplyDeleteWhen Frozen was first coming out, that's all I ever heard about. And I realized why after I saw it. It is actually a very good Disney film and all different ages like it as well. Disney usually does pretty well with their movies and since I had last been to Disneyworld there had been a lot of action figures and clothes and such about Frozen. I am actually not that surprised with how much money it brought in, the movie was in the theaters for so long because everyone knew it was going to be a hit. I am pretty surprised though that it outdid Finding Nemo and Shrek. The movie on it's own increased Disney's net profit by 27% and that is huge just for one movie. I remember the day Frozen came out on DVD, all I saw on my social media apps were pictures of the DVD and how excited all of my friends and family were to watch it again. By everyone seeing it in theaters cause $770 million in global revenue, that's huge for the economy. It's so crazy that one good movie can do that well for an economy and how much revenue it can bring in.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic because I still haven't seen the movie frozen and I hear that many people still haven't and this movie is still a raging hit. I have heard that this movie is very thought provoking especially sculpting the of children who are getting in the habit of treating other the way they have seen before. The cost effect on most of those movies is really making a change which is not surprising because it always is a good time to see a movie.
ReplyDeleteI knew that Frozen had become incredibly popular, but I never would have imagined that it was the highest grossing animated film in history. This movie was one in which people felt the influence to see it because other people were demanding it, which made overall demand to see this movie incredibly high. Even now, when the movie is out on DVD, the profits that the stores and Disney made has to have been huge. The first day it came out, demand was incredibly high, and I would predict that Disney brought in a bunch of revenue out of that, as well. Because Frozen was such a big success, they probably feel the pressure to come out with an even bigger and better movie, bringing in more revenue than ever before.
ReplyDeleteI love your topic, mostly because I love this movie! So many people have talked about this movie in a positive way, which makes sense in why they made so much money. Of course a production company like Disney has helped the economy a great deal, but I never knew that Shrek 2 made that much money also. I assume if Disney keeps making these types of movies.
ReplyDeleteI'm obsessed with Frozen. I've seen it 28 times and know literally every single word. Movies are a major factor of entertainment in our society and when done right they can grasp the attention (and money) of millions. This movie did so well at that. It not only engages young children, but became a trend for teenagers and even parents. The downfall in this is after such a great production of a movie bringing in millions of dollars and views, will they be able to compete? Will Disney's next movies match up to the standards they have given themselves? I love Disney and will always love new and old Disney movies alike. But one has to wonder what the coming generations will think of Disney and if they will maintain their successful amount of income they bring in.
ReplyDeleteI work at pick n save on silvernail and we have a red box in our front end of the store. All you here from little kids that shop with their parents is frozen. Every kid wants to get it and usually their parents get it for them. So I would believe that the movie Frozen is making a lot of money and is doing well in the economy.
ReplyDeleteYou picked such an interesting topic -- Frozen is definitely one of the most popular movies of the year! I think that the reason that Frozen was the highest grossing animated film was because the producers made their product available to a larger audience than most films do. Because Frozen appeals to both adult and children consumers, it makes double the money that a movie that only appeals to one of those groups. Producers and directors must think a lot about the economic consequences of their artistic choices when making a movie, because they have to be aware of the marginal cost and marginal benefits of how they display the movie. For example, the reason that many children's movies, like Frozen, are not graphic is because deciding to add graphic scenes would have a marginal cost of losing a lot of consumers because parents would no longer take their children to see the movie. Your article proves that every industry, even movies, must be aware of their economic decisions. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteFrozen was one of the best movies I have seen this year. Of course there are better movies around but this was probably the best Disney movie I have ever seen, and being a guy I feel weird saying that. Honestly I am not that that going to the movies increases the GDP of our nation considering popcorn is about ten dollars a bucket. I hate how they can charge what every they want for a thing of soda and no matter what I am going to purchase it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't seen Frozen yet, I've heard nothing but good things about the film. I've heard people day they went to see the movie multiple times in theaters because it was that good, and if a movie can attract that many fans then I can see why they brought in so much money! No one really cares how much a movie costs because they'll go see it anyways, making a proven point that the economy brings in millions of dollars from theaters. Not only did Frozen bring in money from theaters, but all of the things that are out there to purchase such as clothes, blankets, etc. contribute a lot as well. This was an interesting topic and it was cool to see what other movies brought in lots of money as well!
ReplyDeleteI was reading something that I found on twitter awhile ago but it stated that a theatre will spend $30 on popcorn and can turn that into $3000. That is a crazy profit they make off such a cheap food source. The article also stated that they pay more money for the cups of soda than they do for the soda inside the cups. Which I think is crazy, soda and popcorn are atleast $2.50 for a small and they must make a huge profit off every purchase.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think that this movie came out in November and people are still talking about it. I didn't really realize it existed until after Christmas, but since then I have watch it grow in popularity. This proves that consumer tastes play a huge role in the success of a company's product. At the end of your post you mentioned that if people keep putting money back into entertainment, the economy will remain stable. It would be interesting to see how the recession affected movie revenue, if at all.
ReplyDeleteMovies are a very popular form of entertainment for consumers. I don't find it surprising at all that Disney's stocks rose. Frozen was a very popular movie and I know people that even went to see it more than once while it was in theaters. It doesn't surprise me that this movie did so well and it also doesn't surprise me that movies help the economy. Although going to the theater may be somewhat expensive, people definatley find it worth it.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this movie, so as soon as I saw you did this as your topic I was drawn to it right away. Movies will always be a huge part of the economy and will always be bringing in money, regardless of the prices, because families and friends will of course go to movies and pay the prices. I didnt realize however how much this movie actually made the economy grow. With the movie succeeding, the amount of stocks that were bought in disney rose, along with the prices of the stocks. This was a great topic to pick and peaked alot of peoples interest. Awesome topic
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